Something Missed
by qute-babie-dasey
Summary: SEQUEL to 'Ashamed'. Derek has made his decision about his acceptance to UBC, and now it's years later. He knew there would be consequences to his decision, but he didn't know what kind. Future Fic. Dasey ofcourse.
1. Prologue

**This is the sequel to "Ashamed" **

**Disclaimer: I Don't Own LWD... :(**

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_The morning after her high school graduation, Casey woke up with a smile on her face. She had finally graduated. She was about to start her life as an adult. And not only that, she was about to start it with Derek by her side. _

_She climbed out of bed and ran to Derek's room. She burst in, jumped on the bed in attempt to wake him, and realized he wasn't there. Casey figured he was probably downstairs already. She was about to leave the room when she noticed an envelope on his bed side table. It had her name on it. She picked it up and opened it. As she read the note, her eyes got really wide. After looking around his room and checking the bathroom, Casey ran down the stairs frantically._

_"Where's Derek?" She asked, out of breath. Nora and Gearge were both in the kitchen making breakfast. They looked up._

_"He's probably still sleeping." George replied as he took a sip of his coffee._

_"No he's not, I was just in his room."_

_"Bathroom?"_

_"Already checked. And he left this." Casey handed George the note. _

_"What does it say?" Nora asked._

_"It says, 'Don't look for me. Don't try to contact me. Please. I'm fine, I need to do this. Derek'." George read out loud. Casey was panicking right about now. She was absolutely hysterical. _

_"Casey, don't cry. This is probably just a stupid prank." Nora tried to assure he daughter. _

_"No mom! This isn't a prank. He took all his clothes. He left. For good!" Casey yelled. She sat down on the couch and sobbed into her hands. _

_"What?!" Lizzie, Marti and Edwin were walking down the stairs. Lizzie was shocked. Marti was extremely sad. And Edwin looked mad. _

_"Uhh, it seems that Derek left." George said sadly. Marti instantly started crying. As George, Nora, and Lizzie tried to comfort the little girl, Edwin walked over to the couch and sat down beside Casey. _

_"This is all YOUR fault." He sneered, glaring at her._

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**So here is the first chapter...R&R**


	2. Surprise!

**Disclaimer: I don't own LWD or 'Shaftesbury Films Incorporated'... actually 'Shaftesbury Films Incorporated' owns LWD...hehehe :P I also don't own any of the stores, places, and products I mentioned in this chapter. **

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_6 years later_

Derek Venturi was happy. Really, he was. He had been promoted after working at 'Shaftesbury Films Incorporated' for almost two years. The problem? Not that he had been transferred. No. That part was exciting. No. The problem was that he had been transferred to...

London.

Yes. He was forced to go back to the one place he swore he would never return to.

Oh yes. He could have refused to go back there. But if he had done that, he would be fired big time. Actually he tried explaining to his boss that he couldn't go there. Only, it didn't go as well as he had hoped...

_"Come on in Derek." Jeff called. Derek walked into his boss' office hesitantly. Over the years, the two of them had become pretty good friends. However, when it came to business, Jeff didn't give Derek special treatment, and he was actually kind of tough. _

_"Listen, Jeff," Derek started. "I really appreciate getting this promotion. Really. But, is it possible that I don't need to go to London? Anywhere in the world is great, just not London."_

_"What's the problem? I thought you grew up there." _

_"THAT'S the problem. I uhh have some trouble with my family." _

_"Listen, Derek, I can't just magically snap my fingers and change the new location. We're not opening any new offices anywhere but London. Now unless you're in any danger by going back there, my hands are tied." _

So here he was. Back in London. Because of course he wouldn't give up this amazing job that he had been so lucky to get in the first place. He met Jeff through his college roommate, who was Jeff's brother. Jeff hired Derek just before he graduated, and he had been working there ever since.

He still didn't know what to do about his family. All he knew was that he was not ready to see them yet. If ever. Every time he went outside he kept glancing over his shoulder making sure he didn't accidentally run into anyone he knew. He had been lucky for about four months until he decided to go to a nearby pizza parlor for lunch one Saturday. Derek didn't realize until he walked in that he had made a stupid, stupid mistake.

______

Casey MacDonald pulled out of the parking lot of Carling Arenas. She made her way to Maria's Pizza N'Pasta House for lunch.

"What do you say to pizza for lunch sweetie?" She asked the little boy who was playing Nintendo DS in the back seat.

"Sounds good mommy." Five year old Jake said without looking up from his game.

Casey smiled as she shook her head. Ever since Jake got that game system from his uncle, also for no absolute reason, he hasn't put it down unless he was at school, doing his homework, or playing hockey. She would have to speak to Sam about that very soon.

A few minute's later, Casey parked beside the pizza parlor and got out of the car. She opened the back door and helped Jake out of his booster seat. They walked into the shop and found their usual table by the front window.

"Casey! Jake! What can get for you?" Margherita, Maria's granddaughter greeted as she walked up to them. Margherita's family owned the place for about four generations. Casey and Jake were there so often they were practically part of the family themselves.

"Hey Marge." Casey smiled. Jake waved up at her without looking up. "I guess we'll get our usual. Thanks"

"Right away." Marge said laughing.

As Marge walked away, Casey looked out the window. Suddenly something, more like someone, caught her eye. She froze.

"It can't be." She whispered to herself.

"What mommy?" Jake finally looked up.

"Nothing sweetie, go back to your game."

Just then, the door opened and in walked the man that broke her heart, the love of her life. Derek.

______

As if feeling her eyes on him, Derek looked right at Casey and froze. They stared at each other for a while before he finally noticed the little boy sitting next to her. He looked about five years old. He wasn't sure who this kid was. He figured she was probably babysitting him for a friend or something. Until the boy looked up from his game. Derek instantly knew. Aside from a few of Casey's feature's, this boy was the spitting image of him.

Casey shot out of her chair when she noticed Derek practically collapsing in the nearest chair. She sat down beside him quietly. She had no idea what to say. She wasn't prepared for this.

"Derek..." Casey whispered. Derek wasn't listening, he was focusing on how to breath.

After a few minutes, Derek looked up at Casey. She was looking at him hesitantly.

"Case..." He started. "Is he...my...?" He couldn't say the word. Luckily for him, Casey could.

"Son?" He nodded. "Yeah..." She mumbled. Before Derek could say anything, she got up.

"Wait. Where are you going?" Derek got up as well. Casey turned around.

"Look, can we talk about this somewhere else? I don't want to freak him out. Or anyone else for that matter."

"Okay, where?"

"The only place I can think of is my apartment." Casey replied as they made their way to their son. Casey sat down beside him. "Sweetie, We need to go home. Marge, can we get those slices to go?" Casey called to the front.

"No problem!"

______

Derek drove behind Casey in a daze. It wasn't far from the pizza place. She finally pulled into the parking lot of a run down apartment building. She signaled him to the visitor parking space and parked in her own spot. As soon as Derek parked, he got out to wait for Casey, who was helping their son out of his seat. Derek followed her into the building, they made their way up a flight of stairs and walked through a door that had the number '2' on it. She stopped at a door, but instead of opening it with her key, she knocked. A blond woman who looked about 30, opened the door. When she saw Casey, she smiled.

"Hey Sarah," Casey smiled, though it seemed a little strained. "I was wondering if you could take Jake for a few hours."

_Jake, _Derek thought. _So that's my son's name._ He shook his head, he still couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that he had a son.

"No problem. Matthew was actually hoping Jake could come over to play." Sarah agreed. She looked up and saw Derek, then she quickly looked back at Casey. She knew exactly who he was. Casey had showed her pictures of Jake's father a couple of times. And it wasn't hard to miss where Jake got his looks from. Casey knew what Sarah was thinking and gave her a look that she would tell her everything later. Sarah nodded.

"Great! I'll see you later." Casey knelt down and looked at Jake. "Have fun with Matthew, baby. I'll pick you up later. Then we can go to the park maybe. Okay?"

Jake looked up at Derek nervously, then back at Casey. "Okay mommy." He said as he hugged her. Casey stood up and watched Jake walk into the apartment. As soon as Sarah closed the door, Casey walked down the hall and stopped by another door. This time she pulled out her key and opened it. She walked in and waited for Derek to do the same. When they were both inside, she closed the door.

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**Hope you liked it! R&R...**

**I posted a picture of Jake on my profile. **


	3. You Did This

**Disclaimer: I do not own LWD, although I DO own Jake :)**

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Casey hung her jacket on the coat rack and reached for Derek's jacket. Instead he hung it himself. She glanced at him before going into the living room and sitting down on the couch. She sighed as she looked up at him.

"Do want something to drink?" She asked him. He glanced at her as he sat down on a recliner.

"No."

They were quiet for a few minutes. Derek was thinking about how approach this situation. He was angry at Casey for keeping something like this from him, and he was sure that his family was in on it. He was so angry that he forgot that when he left six years ago, he made it impossible for them to contact him. He did, however, want to deal with this whole thing maturely and rationally.

Finally Casey broke the silence, "Will you just yell at me already, or whatever it is you're planning on doing?" She sighed heavily.

Derek looked at her. "I'm not going to yell at you." He muttered.

Suddenly, he pushed back off of his chair. "You know what? Never mind. How could you keep something like this from me?! How could you do this to me?!" He yelled.

Casey got up as well. "How could I do this to you? How could _I_ do this to you?" She yelled back, angrily."What the hell is wrong with you?! If you wouldn't have left without a way to CONTACT you, this wouldn't be happening!"

"Don't turn this around on me!"

"Who am I supposed to turn this on? What was I supposed to do? Send a message out into the universe and HOPE it would get to you? I didn't know where you were! God! Sometimes I thought that you could easily be dead!" Then she muttered, "Sometimes I wished you were." Derek glared at her. "Seriously, what would expect me to do? You left one night without a word about where you were going or if you were coming back. As far as I was concerned, you wanted nothing to do with any of us anymore." Casey said tearfully.

"Why didn't you tell me before I left then?"

"I didn't know then! I found out about a month after you left." Casey said, exasperated. "Besides, what would you have done? Like I said, you clearly didn't want to stick around."

"I would have stayed if I knew I was about to have a KID!" Derek yelled.

"Oh! That makes me feel SO much better." Casey rolled her eyes. "Don't get me wrong, that would have been good for Jake. But not the part where his father couldn't stand being around his mom."

"That..that's not true." Derek muttered. "How could you think that?"

"How could I think that? You left! You left me after promising we would be together and that you would stay by my side through everything. Especially when I needed you most. And guess what! I needed you most right then and there! I was young and pregnant and ALONE!" Casey yelled, tears falling furiously down her cheeks. "And you weren't by my side. You were off God knows where. And by looking at you and your _fancy_ car, you were pretty damn successful. And please don't get me wrong, I'm happy that you're successful. I am. But I wasn't so lucky. I had to give up on university and my goals so I could take care of our baby. And I love Jake. I do. He is SUCH a blessing.

"But sometimes I wonder what my life would have turned out like if I didn't get pregnant. Or scratch that, if you didn't leave. Because I would not trade Jake for anything in this world." It was true. Casey loved her son with everything she had. And as much as Derek admired that, he resented her for being able to get to know their son.

"You know. I really wouldn't have left if I'd known. You would've been able to go to school." Derek whispered. Casey looked at him tearfully, she was surprised to see that his eyes were almost tearing up too. She looked away and shook her head.

"You know, that makes me feel a bit better. Because went you left, even before I found out I was pregnant, I was devastated. I mean I loved you so damn much, I was so excited to be going to university with you. And then I wake up one morning to find you gone. That nearly killed me. And not only that, it practically tore our family apart."

Derek looked at Casey. "What do you mean?"

"I..I mean that the family was devastated too. Big time." Casey said quickly. Derek looked at her suspiciously, he knew when she was lying, even after all these years. He decided to let go for now though. Casey looked up at him. "Why did you leave anyway? And where did you go?" She asked.

Derek took a breath. If Casey wasn't prepared to explain to Derek about Jake, Derek REALLY wasn't prepared for THIS.

"Well. The day of our graduation, I got a letter from the University of British Columbia. I got a full scholarship. And to be honest, going to UBC has always been something I really wanted." Derek confessed. Casey looked at him, surprised.

"Why didn't you tell me? Why did you just leave without saying goodbye?"

"I thought it would be easier for the both of us if you hated me. Besides, it would kill me to say actually say goodbye to you." Derek admitted. He sat down on the couch and looked down at his hands. Casey sat down beside him and sighed.

"Der, I could never hate you. And believe it or not, I think it would've made it MUCH easier if you told me how you really felt. I mean sure, I would have been sad but I would have understood." Casey told him gently. She couldn't believe it. Here she was, talking calmly to the man who had practically abandoned her six years ago. "But we're here to talk about Jake, our son. And after all the yelling and explanations, what do you want?"

"What do you mean? What do I want from who?"

"From me. From Jake. Do you want to stick around? Do you want to be in your son's life?" Casey looked at Derek seriously.

"I don't know. I mean how could I all of a sudden walk into a child's life and be a father? I don't know anything about him. I mean I missed practically five years of his life." Derek explained. "I don't know when is his birthday. What's his middle name. What's his favourite colour, subject, food. What he likes to do. I don't know anything about him." Derek could feel his eyes watering again, but he didn't care.

Casey just smiled. "Yes, you missed five years, but that could easily be made up. There are many, many more years to come. And I could help you. Let's see," She paused for a second for dramatic effect. "His full name is Jacob Sebastian Venturi, he was born on February 21, 2010. And may I add, after 34 hours of brutal pain." They both laughed.

"Wait, that's in two weeks." Derek pointed out. Casey nodded, smiling. Derek grinned.

"I want to do this. I want to be a part of our son's life." Derek said after a moment.

"You sure?" Casey asked seriously. Derek nodded, he wasn't so sure of anything in his life. "I really need you to be sure. I don't want Jake going through getting a father and then losing him. It's going to be hard enough explaining this to him later if you choose not to stay..."

"Wait, why would you have to explain it? You would only have to do that if he knew who I was." Casey just looked at him. "He knows who I am?" Casey nodded.

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**So here we are, another chapter done. Hope you liked it. R&R please...**

**And don't forget to go to my profile to see Jake's picture. **


	4. Videos

**I'm not really happy with the previous chapter now that I look at it, but I will make this one good. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own LWD...sadly :(**

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Casey looked down. "Yes. Jake knows who you are. I don't think he recognised you right away but he's smart for his age. He saw pictures of you at our old house. And here. I show him pictures of you all the time."

"Wow. I never expected that." Derek admitted. Casey smiled at him gently.

"Derek, I never once tried to hide the fact that you are his father. It has always been pretty much out in the open with Jake. Even when he was a baby, I showed him pictures and told him stories about you." Casey explained.

"Why?"

"Because I wanted Jake to know that no matter what, he always has a father, even if he's not around." Casey sighed.

"I would have been around if I knew that I had a son. Jake wouldn't have to live with just pictures and stories of me." Derek said honestly.

"I told him that. I told him that you didn't abandon him." Casey said. They smiled at each other. After a moment, Casey got up and walked over to the t.v cabinet. Once she found what she wanted, she sat back down beside Derek. "Here." She said, handing him a small stack of DVDs.

"What's this?" He took the package.

"Birthdays, Christmases, games. Pretty much everything I could get on camera." Casey explained. "To be honest, I was actually hoping that I would have a chance to give this to you, that you would find out about your son." She admitted sadly. Derek was shocked.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I want you to know your son, and I want Jake to have his father in his life." Casey placed her hand on top of his.

"Like I said before, I want to be in his life." Derek promised. "In both your lives." He smiled at her.

"I like that." She smiled back at him. "Do you want to start tomorrow? You could come with us to his hockey practise."

"He plays hockey?" Derek asked excitedly. "I'd love to come. What time?"

"Why don't you pick us up at 9:30?"

"Sure thing." He said as they both got up from the couch. Casey walked him to the door and watched as he slipped his jacket on. Before he walked out of the apartment, he put his arms around her in a gentle hug. Casey inhaled his scent as she hugged him back. It hasn't changed. He was still using the aftershave she loved. After a little while, they pulled apart and he left. She sighed before walking out herself. It was almost four and she had to get Jake home to give him some dinner. She walked down the hall and knocked on Sarah's door, slightly trembling.

"Hey Case," Sarah said as soon as she opened the door. "Are you okay?" Casey shrugged. "Come in and tell me everything." Casey nodded and let Sarah lead her into the apartment.

Casey told Sarah everything. By the time they finished talking, it was already seven. They had ordered a pizza for the boys and themselves, and Sarah had suggested that Jake stay over there for the night so Casey can relax and have some time alone. Sarah's husband, Nickolas, came home just as Casey was leaving. She had a quick conversation with him and retreated home.

______

At the same time that Casey was going home for a relaxing evening, Derek was getting ready to watch one of the DVDs Casey had given him. After popping in the disk that said '# 1' on it, into the DVD player, he sat down on the couch and pushed play on the remote.

_Suddenly Casey came on screen. She was packing up a little suitcase with baby clothes. Her huge tummy bulging out. She hadn't noticed the camera at first but then she looked up a smiled. She was glowing. Her long dark hair fell over her back in loose curls and her face was bright._

_"Come on mom, I told you to wait until Jake is born to film." She laughed. She shook her and went back to folding little onesies._

_"Oh Casey this is exciting too." Nora said from behind the camera. _

_"I'm hardly considered exciting." Casey responded as she looked back up at the camera. She smiled again, but this time it seemed kind of forced. _

_All of a sudden, a baby's cry could be heard in the background and a frantic George yelling, "Nora! Can you come here and help me? Please!" He begged._

_"Oh Georgie!" Nora sighed as Casey laughed again. _

_-_

_The next clip was of Casey in the back seat of the car with Marti holding her hand. Casey was breathing and sweating, obviously in labor. _

_"Breath, breath, breath." Marti was saying. _

_"Breath, breath, breath." George and Nora were also saying from behind the camera. Nora seemed a bit calmer than George, who sounded panicky._

_-_

_The next scene was Casey already pushing in the hospital. Nora and Marti were on either side of her, holding her hands. Casey looked like she was in terrible pain. _

_"Push Casey! Push!" Everyone kept saying. _

_The camera started shaking and Nora could be seen coming towards it saying, "George!"_

_-_

_Finally a tired but happy looking Casey was holding a little bundle of blue blanket. She didn't even look at the camera, she was looking lovingly at the little bundle. Nora and Marti were still at her sides looking at the little baby happily. _

_"He's beautiful, Casey!" George said from behind the camera. And suddenly the camera came closer to the little baby. Jake was sleeping peacefully._

_"Jacob Sebastian Venturi," Casey whispered. "my little angel."_

The camera went black. Derek was still staring at the t.v, he let a few tears fall down his cheeks. He knew right then that there couldn't be anything more beautiful than his little baby boy, or the look that Casey had when she was looking down at him. He was so angry at himself that he missed his son's birth, he was angry at himself that he made it impossible for Casey to tell him about their son.

Then suddenly, Casey came on screen again. This time she was sitting right in front of it and looking right at it. It appeared that she was alone.

_"So I just put little Jake down to sleep," She started lovingly. "We have been back from the hospital for about two and a half hours now. And I'm exhausted, so I will make this short. Or I'll try." She smiled._

_"If you're watching this, then you are probably Derek. Hi," She waved. "You obviously know about our son. I'm sorry. For not letting you know sooner I mean. I really am. But in my defence, I didn't know how to contact you. But I'm not here to talk about that. I'm here to talk to you about our son._

_"His name is Jacob Sebastian Venturi, and he was born on a cold day on February 21, 2010 at 4:37am. I gave him your last name because you are still his father, and I don't want to hide that from him. Ever. Now, I don't know when you found out, so I don't know how old Jake is. I don't know much about him except the fact that he is the most amazing little boy in the world. He is a little monster when it comes to sleeping for now," She smiled. "but I am sure that if he is anything like you, I will soon be begging him to wake up. He is an exact replica of you, Derek. He has your hair, your beautiful smile, and those brown eyes that I've always loved." Casey said sadly. _

_"I will be making a lot more videos of Jake. You won't miss anything important. I will catch everything I can of him for as long I need to. Even if it is for the next five years, ten years, twenty-five years. I promise. And he will know about you from the beginning. We love you, Derek. Both your son, and I."_

Derek was speechless when the video ended. He couldn't believe what kind of jerk he was to her, today and espacially when he had left her all those years ago. After everything he put her through, here she was on camera, saying that she still loved him. He could tell she was being honest, and he didn't deserve that. He saw the sad look she had in her eyes, even when she was smiling. He did that to her. And not by making her pregnant, but by leaving her.

Derek thought back to the video. He remembered a baby crying in the background and suddenly remembered that he had a sibling. He wanted to smack himself for forgetting about his little sister or brother whom he had never even met. He or she was probably about the same age as Jake, only a bit older. He would have to go and visit them soon.

He then thought back to the scenes where Marti was holding Casey's hand. Sure, they were close, but he figured Lizzie would be there for Casey instead. When he thought about it, Lizzie wasn't in any of the clips, and neither was Edwin. Derek knew something must have been going when he remembered what Casey said earlier about him 'tearing up' their family, and then how she tried to cover it up. He was going to find out the next day. Even if he had to beat it out of her.

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**Hope you enjoyed it. R&R please:)**

**...Oh and the scene where Casey was in labor and the camera started shaking, that was George about to faint :P**


	5. Unforgivable

**Thank you so much for the reviews. They are so sweet!! :D**

**Disclaimer: I Don't Own LWD... :(**

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Since she was able to relax the night before, Casey woke up pretty early. She looked at the clock, _7:38_. She got out of bed and went to take a long shower. As the hot water warmed her cold body, she wondered what the day was going to bring. She was nervous about spending day with Derek. She hasn't seen him in nearly six years, and here she was, about to spend the day with him. Casey smiled, she was really happy, and she couldn't wait to tell Jake the good news.

After she got out of the bathroom, it was already after eight, so she got dressed and went to pick Jake up to get him ready for his practise.

At about 9:20, Casey heard a knock on the door. She opened it to see Derek. He smiled at her.

"You're early." She smiled back. She moved to the side to let him in and then closed the door when he did.

"Only about ten minutes." He said casually. She looked at him curiously as he stood still by the door. "Shoes." He just said. Casey shook her head as she chuckled.

"Jake!" She called. The little boy came out of his room all ready to go. He looked at Derek and smiled shyly. Casey told him earlier that his daddy was spending the day with them. He seemed excited, but he was still really shy.

Derek smiled brightly at his son. He had the whole night to let everything sink in, and now he was extremely happy about it. Of course he was still nervous that he wasn't going to make a good father, but he was more than willing to learn. "Hi Jake. your mom probably already told you that I'm your dad. You can call me Derek until you're more comfortable." He said.

"Hi." Jake said shyly. Casey could see that Jake kind of wanted to hug him, but he was nervous. He needed time.

"Alright boys!" She said cheerfully to cover up the awkwardness. "Let's get going. Jake, come put your coat on. And don't forget about your hat and mittens." She handed him what he needed and proceeded to put her own jacket on, not bothering with her gloves. She dropped them on a nearby side table.

"Case, gloves." Derek demanded. She glanced over at him with surprise, and he winked at her. Jake giggled as he waited for his parents by the door. The sound made Derek's heart fill with pride. He just made his son laugh. Casey smiled as she put the gloves on.

They walked out into the parking lot and walked over to Derek's car.

"Oh I have to get Jake's booster seat and hockey equipment out of my car." Casey remembered.

"Get the hockey stuff, but there's no need for the seat." Derek said as he unlocked the car.

"Yes there is, Derek. It's the law. And it's safer." Casey reprimanded.

"Chill Case. I know there's a law. And how could you think that I would do anything to endanger the life of my own son? I mean that there is no need because I got one for my car yesterday."

Casey was shocked. "Really?"

"Yeah. It would be such a hassle to always change the seat from one car to another. And what if you took him to school one day but I would have to pick him up?" Derek said and motioned for Casey to get the hockey stuff.

Casey got to her car and opened her trunk. As she got Jake's hockey bag out, she noticed that Derek had already buckled Jake in his seat. She smiled to herself. She loved how Derek was already starting to be a good father. Not that she doubted that he could be. She was really impressed that he thought of getting the booster seat, and he didn't seem nervous around Jake. Or if he was, he wasn't showing it.

______

The three of them walked into the arena at about ten to ten. Still early, they decided to get some hot chocolate. After they were done, it was time for Jake to change, so Derek and Casey walked him to the change rooms.

Derek and Casey, along with a bunch of other parents, were sitting on the bleachers when the team came out onto the ice. Since it was just practise, it wasn't that exciting to watch, but Derek was so happy to be watching his son play his favourite sport. And not that Derek cared about that, but he was good! Derek looked over at the coach, who was skating around and giving out pointers to the boys. Derek was shocked to see who the coach was.

"Sam?" He exclaimed. Casey looked over at him knowingly.

"Yup. Sam's the coach here." She told him.

"Wow." He just whispered. The last time Derek ever spoke to his best friend, was during graduation. He hadn't contacted anyone before he left for B.C. He noticed Sam look over to him, he wasn't really surprised to see him.

After practise, they both waited outside the change rooms for Jake to come out. When he finally did come out, he was the last one and Sam came out with him.

"Hey Sam." Casey smiled at him. She could feel the tension between him and Derek. Sam had made it clear many times that what Derek did was unforgivable.

"Hey Casey." Sam smiled at her briefly and then shifted his gaze to Derek, minus the smile. "Derek." He said curtly.

"Sam." Derek said uncomfortably. He too could feel the tension. The only person who was oblivious to what was going on, was Jake.

"Uhh, Jake, sweetie, why don't we go and wait for daddy in the car." Casey said quickly. Derek handed her the keys without argument. "See you later, Sam" She whispered as she passed by him. She quickly ushered Jake out of the building.

"So..." Derek said casually.

"What are you doing here, Derek?" Sam didn't waste any time.

"I got transferred here a few months ago."

"No. I meant what are you doing here with Casey and Jake?"

"Well, Casey asked me to come. So I could watch Jake play." Derek responded.

"Why would you care about that all of a sudden? You weren't around at all through out his life, and now all of a sudden you want in?" Sam asked, disgusted.

"Look Sam," Derek said angrily. "I didn't know I had a reason to be around. I didn't know I had a son until yesterday. If I knew earlier, I would be here."

Sam laughed without humour. "A reason to be around. What about your family? And more importantly, what about Casey? What? She wasn't good enough to be 'a reason'?"

"Look, I know I screwed up. I know that. I regretted leaving her every single day since I left. And I will be making it up to her AND Jake for as long as they let me."

Sam glared at him. A moment later, he shook his head and, "I can't believe she let you back in her life."

"Neither can I, Sam. I know I don't deserve it. But I think that she only did it for Jake." Derek said sadly. "I gotta go. They're waiting for me, and I don't want them to freeze."

"Sure thing." Sam nodded. He turned to go but turned right back. "Are you gonna be coming over for dinner with them?"

"I didn't know anything about that." Derek said.

"Oh, well they come over every Sunday." Sam told him, he paused for a moment. "You should too." He said.

"Uhh, yeah. I think I might." Derek agreed. "See you later." He said, he turned around and walked outside. He got to the already warm car and smiled at Casey. She looked at him curiously.

"Everything okay?" She asked gently.

"Yeah. Looks like I'm tagging along with you when you go to his house for dinner tonight." He smirked. Casey smiled at that. She was a little bit surprised. She knew how Sam felt about what Derek did and she didn't think he would forgive him for that so easily. But she figured he was doing it for his godson.

"Okay." She said. "So where to now? Jake and I always go to my mom and George's on Sundays for lunch. What do you say?"

"Uhh. I don't know." Derek said hesitantly. He didn't say anything for a while. He was really nervous about seeing his family, but then he thought about his concerns and questions for them. He finally said, "Why not."

______

Derek parked the car in the driveway. He and Casey got out and he made his way to help Jake out. They walked up to the door and rang the doorbell.

Marti opened the door and instantly squealed. "Derek!" She hugged him tightly. Derek felt a rush of relief as he hugged his Smarti back. Casey smiled at the scene. After a while, they finally shuffled inside.

"Where is everyone?" Casey asked.

"Oh they went to store quickly, they should be back soon." Marti responded casually. She looked at Derek. "OhMyGod. So what are you doing here?" Derek told her about the transfer and everything that happened in the past two days. He was happy that she didn't ask him about why he left, he really didn't want to get into that. He knew that eventually he would have to, especially with his dad and Nora.

By the time the family came home, Marti was showing Derek something in her room, while Casey and Jake were watching a movie on the couch.

"Grandma!" Jake exclaimed happily as he ran to hug Nora.

"Jake, my baby." Nora said as she hugged her grandson. She looked at Casey and smiled. "Hey, Casey."

"Hey, mom. Where are the boys?" Casey asked. Just as Nora was about to respond, George walked in with little Nathan.

"Casey!" Nathan ran over to hug his big sister.

"Hey, Casey." George said with a smile. "Uh, did you get a new car or something?"

"No, why?"

"Well, we didn't see your car, but there was-" He stopped and looked up the stairs. "Does Marti have a boy upstairs?" George asked, getting panicky.

Casey laughed nervously. "No, it's just uhh-"

"Me." Derek said from the top of the stairs. He came down slowly, followed by Marti. Nora and George looked at him, shocked.

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**R&R please:D**

**Oh and there is a picture of Nathan on my profile :)**


	6. Betrayed

**Disclaimer: I don't own LWD :(****

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"And then I was transferred here." Derek finished. After a tearful and a bit of an awkward reunion, the family wanted to know where Derek was for the past six years. Derek told them all about the scholarship to UBC and all about his job.

"Why didn't you say goodbye?" Marti asked sadly. Derek looked at her guiltily, he hadn't realized how much he had hurt his family.

"I didn't want anyone to try to talk me out of it. I mean as much as I regretted leaving all of you, being at UBC was something I would never regret.I thought it would be easier for everyone if I left without making such a big deal out of it." Derek responded. "Of course, I will always regret not leaving some sort of contact information." He said, looking at Jake.

"Well, you're back now." Nora said with a smile. "Now let's all move to the table for some lunch."

While they all ate, Marti was telling them about something that happened at school on Friday. Casey and Derek were quiet the whole time. She kept thinking about what Derek had told them, there was something that bothered her. And Derek's mind drifted to Edwin and Lizzie. He wanted to ask his family about them, but he didn't want Jake and Nathan to be around. He had a feeling that whatever was going on, it wasn't good.

"We're done!" Jake and Nathan said at the same time. Then they ran up to Nathan's room to play. Even though their birth certificates said Nathan was a year older than Jake, he was older than him by only two months. The two were practically inseparable.

"Okay. What the hell is going on?" Derek demanded. Everyone looked at him, shocked.

"What do you mean?" George asked. Casey looked down, she had an idea what he meant.

"Der, don't." She pleaded. They all turned to her.

"Casey, do you know what did is about?" Nora asked her daughter, who didn't say anything. She just stared at Derek, pleadingly.

"No, Casey. I want to know what the hell went on after I left." Derek pushed. "What is going on with Edwin and Lizzie. I know there is something up."

Nobody said anything for a while. Eventually, Marti whispered. "Edwin hates us." She looked down.

Casey looked at Marti. "Marti, no. Don't say that. Edwin only hates ME."

"Will someone PLEASE start explaining?" Derek asked, obviously frustrated.

"Alright," Casey sighed...

_"This is all YOUR fault." Edwin sneered, glaring at Casey. She looked at him tearfully._

_"What? What do you mean?"_

_"He left because of you." _

_"Edwin!" George gasped. Everyone was staring at Edwin and Casey. "How could you say that?"_

_"Why else would he leave?" Edwin asked. "She obviously did something to drive him away."_

_"Casey wouldn't do that!" Marti yelled. She ran to Casey and sat on her lap, hugging her. Edwin glared down at her._

_"Oh come on, Marti. How can you not blame her for Derek leaving?" Edwin said. "Nothing else would make him leave." _

_"Edwin." Nora said. _

_"He didn't even say goodbye. I hope your happy." Edwin said, once again glaring at her._

_"Edwin." Nora said again._

_"Why would I be happy? I love him, of course I'm not happy that he's gone." Casey defended herself, tears falling down her cheeks once again._

_"Yeah. Whatever." Edwin scoffed. _

_"Edwin, that's enough!" George demanded. "You just crossed the line! Can't you see that your step-sister is upset?"_

_"You're taking her side? After whatever it is she did to get Derek to do this?" Edwin asked in disbelief. _

_"This isn't anyone's fault." George simply said. Edwin glared at his father and turned to go upstairs._

_"Whatever." He muttered. Lizzie looked at Casey guiltily and followed him. _

"That little bastard." Derek muttered. He was so pissed that Edwin would do something like that.

"Derek, it's in the past." Casey said.

"Really? Then where is he? And where is Lizzie? Where was she when you were giving birth to Jake?" Casey stared at him. "Yeah. I watched the first DVD, and Lizzie was nowhere to be seen, just like Edwin." He said his brother's name in a disgusted tone.

"They live in Toronto. They're going to U of T." George said. "They visit sometimes, but not often."

"Yeah. more like four times a year." Marti said.

"Why not more often?"

"Because, they only come for Christmas, Easter, and Jake and Nathan's birthdays" She responded. "They want nothing to do with the rest of us unless it's a holiday."

"Okay. Why? I mean I understand that Edwin could be douche enough to do that, but why Lizzie?"

"Because she loves him and has been on his side from the very beginning. Edwin hates us for defending Casey." Derek looked at Casey, who was looking down in shame.

"See?" She said. "It's my fault."

"Case. It is not your fault. Don't ever think like that." Derek tried to reassure her.

"Oh yeah right! The only reason you left without saying goodbye was because you knew I would try to talk you out of it. That's the only reason you stayed away for so many years." Casey sighed.

"Casey, please don't think like that." Derek pleaded. Casey just shook her head. "Edwin will pay for this." He muttered. He never felt so betrayed before. Derek counted on Edwin, and he let him down.

"Well, you will see him in two weeks." Marti said. Derek just looked at her. "For Jake's birthday." Derek nodded.

"Good. He will hear what I have to say and then he will pay."

"Derek." Casey just said.

"They abandoned you Casey. And he's the one who caused that. I won't let him get away with that." Derek told her. "And I will have a talk with Lizzie, too."

"Good." Everyone looked at Marti. "What? Just like Derek said. They abandoned her. Why do you think Casey picked Sam and Emily to be Jake godparents?"

"You did?" Derek asked Casey, who nodded. "Good." He smiled at her.

______

They drove to Sam's in silence. They weren't angry at each other, but they had nothing to say. Still, it was an uncomfortable silence, even Jake felt it.

Suddenly, Derek spoke, "That's what you meant when said I tore up the family, huh?"

Casey looked at him in alarm. Then she looked embarrassed. "Yeah. But I didn't mean it. I was just angry and defensive at the moment."

"Case, relax. I'm not mad." Derek said. "You were right by the way." He said after a pause.

"No, I-" Casey started, but Derek cut her off.

"Casey, stop. Please." Derek looked at her quickly before looking back at the road.

"Okay." She whispered.

The rest of the car ride was quiet. With Casey's directions, Derek found the place with no troubles. As he parked in the driveway, he noticed that there were two cars parked.

"Does anyone else come for dinner?" He asked Casey as they got out of the car.

"No, why?" She helped Jake out, and they all started towards the door.

"Uh, no reason." Derek was surprised to see that Sam had two cars. But what was more surprising, was the house that he lived in. It looked like the house from '7th Heaven', only smaller. Definitely not where a single guy would live. Jake ran to the door and rang the door bell before Derek or Casey could. But who opened the door wasn't Sam, it was Emily. A very pregnant looking Emily. Jake immediately gave her a hug and ran inside.

"Hey Emily." Casey gave her quick hug and ran after her son. "Jake slow down! Take off your shoes! No, don't go in there!"

"Hey Case!" Emily called after her, laughing. She looked at Derek and gave him a half smile. "Derek."

"Emily. Wow. What a surprise." He stepped forward and gave her an awkward but friendly hug.

"I could say the same thing about you." She said as she closed the door behind them.

"You don't hate me? I thought everyone did."

Emily laughed as she took his jacket from him and hung it up. "Oh, I did. Believe me. But I figured that it's best for everyone if I'm nice and get over it. Besides, Jake and Casey look really happy."

The two walked into the kitchen to find Casey sitting at the island, talking to Sam, who was cutting up some vegetables.

"OhMyGod! Sam cooking! Never thought I'd see the day." Derek laughed as he went to stand beside Casey.

"Haha." Sam said as he pointed the knife towards Derek. "Don't temp me to use this thing, dude." He shook his head laughing and went back to his work.

The four of them laughed and talked like old times. Derek found out that Sam and Emily got together at Jake's baptism and got married a year later. They were now expecting their second child. Their daughter, Ava, was almost three. Jake was like her big brother, they were really close. It was an amazing evening, like when they were in high school.

When Derek drove Jake and Casey home later that night, with Jake sleeping comfortably and soundly in the back, he was in a great mood. Although he couldn't stop thinking about how much Edwin had betrayed him and how Lizzie had really disappointed him with her actions, or lack there of.

"Hey." Casey nudged him lightly. "What are you thinking about? You okay?"

"Uh, yeah. Just thinking about everything that happened today." Derek said quickly. He looked at her and smiled. "Did you have a good time?"

"Me? I always have a good time at Sam and Emily's. More today, since you were there." Casey smiled back. "But what about you?"

"I had a blast. I thought it would be awkward, of course at first it was, but it was great. Thanks for making it easier." He said honestly. He took her hand in his and held it for the rest of the ride. They both smiled to each other.

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**R&R please...**

**p.s. pic of Ava Richards on my profile :)**


	7. Bonding and Expensive Gifts

**OMG! I am soOoO sorry it took me this long to update. I hope you don't hate me.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own LWD**

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The next morning, Derek showed up to Casey's bright and early. Since he had Mondays off, he offered to take Jake to and from school. Casey was in a rush, she was already a bit late for work and she still needed to get Jake ready.

"Case, go to work. I can handle it." Derek told her. She looked at Jake skeptically and back at Derek. "Chill. Everything will be fine. Remember that I have done this with Marti." He reassured her.

"Okay." Casey went to Jake, who was eating cereal, and gave him a quick kiss. "Okay, baby, your dad is going to get you ready once you finish your breakfast. So, hurry up. Bye sweetie."

"Bye mommy." Jake said absently. He had his eyes on the t.v. Casey went to put her jacket on.

"Alright. You have the directions to his school and don't forget that he gets off at eleven-thirty." Casey made sure.

"Casey. Don't worry. I know what to do." He squeezed her shoulders reassuringly and looked into her eyes. She nodded and turned to leave, but before she did, she gave him a kiss on the cheek. Once Derek realized what was happening, the front door slammed. He quickly recovered and went to sit with Jake until he finished his breakfast. When he got to the dining area, Jake was already done so they went to his room to get him dressed.

Derek drove to Sr. John A. Macdonald Elementary and walked Jake into the classroom. A plump brunette, whom Derek assumed to be Jake's teacher, walked up to him with a warm smile.

"You must be Derek. Casey called me this morning and told me that Jake's father was bringing him in and picking him up as well." It was more of a question than a statement. Derek took her offered hand and shook it.

"Uh, yeah. It's nice to meet you Ms..."

"Oh! Gardener, Ms. Gardener."

"Ms. Gardener." Derek nodded. He looked at Jake, who was sitting on a big carpet patiently with the rest of the class, and back at the teacher. "Well, I should get going."

Ms. Gardener nodded and smiled once again. She went to sit in a chair at the edge of the carpet.

At eleven-fifteen, Derek was already standing outside the classroom. He didn't want to dissapoint Jake by being late. He took Jake back home and gave him lunch. After, the two played video games for a bit and then Derek helped Jake with his homework. By the time Casey came home, they were both asleep on the couch. She smiled at the sight.

"I'm home!" Casey called as if she didn't see them. Derek woke up in a bit of a jump. Remembering that Jake was sleeping against him, he got up gently, trying not to wake him.

"Hey, Case. How was work?"

"Long, but good. How was your day? Did it go well?"

"Yeah. It was great. Are you hungry? How about we order in?"

"Sure." Casey smiled.

()()()()()()()

The rest of the week was a bit different. Since Derek had to work, he could only spend the evenings with Casey and Jake. But he was over every single evening. And he was happy. Not only did he bond with his son, but he and Casey were starting to be great friends.

"How about this?" Casey asked Derek, holding up a box of Ninja puzzles. "He likes puzzles." The two were at Toys R' Us. Sam offered to Jake to his place after Saturday practise since Derek wanted to get Jake's birthday present and he needed Casey with him.

"No." Derek said for the millionth time, not that puzzles were a bad present, but he wanted to get Jake something amazing. Something that he would love.

Casey sighed as she put the puzzles down. "Well then what? You said 'no' to practically everything in this store. There's nothing left." She said dramatically. They were at this for hours and Casey was exhausted.

Derek looked around the store. Then he spotted something. He remembered back to when he took Jake to park a few days ago. Jake had taken his bike and Derek noticed that it was really old and kind of small. Later, he had talked to Casey about it and she told him that Jake got the bike from a neighbor who had used it over fifteen years ago, since she couldn't really afford to get him one herself. He smiled to himself and walked over to the sports section. Casey shook her head as she followed him.

"Der, you can't be serious." She said as she saw him eyeing the most expensive bikes.

"Case, don't even try to talk me out of it."

"But-"

"Don't." Derek simply said, and she shut up.

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**Sorry this chapter is so short, but I will make up fot it in the next chapter. Something will be revealed... :O :P**

**R&R please...**


	8. Birthdays, Notes, and Fights

**Disclaimer: I don't own LWD :'(**

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It was February 21st, Jake's birthday. Derek picked Casey and Jake up to take them to his dad and Nora's house, since the party was to be held there, just like every year.

The street was filled with cars, all for Jake's party. Derek parked in the driveway since there was space saved for him and went to the trunk to get Jake's gift as Casey helped Jake out of the car.

As soon as they walked into the house, Jake ran to play with his friends, while Derek and Casey said their hellos to everyone. Everyone was happily surprised to see that Derek was back. After talking to just about everyone, Derek went upstairs to go to the bathroom.

A few moments after Derek went upstairs, the front door opened and Edwin and Lizzie walked in. Jake ran to greet his aunt and uncle while Casey went upstaris to warn Derek. As soon as she got there, Derek came out of the bathroom. Thinking she wanted to go in there herself, he moved out of the way, but Casey shook her head. Derek looked at her curiously and waited for her to speak.

"Edwin and Lizzie are here." Casey told him. "Please don't do anything crazy." She pleaded when she noticed him tense up.

"I'll try." Derek simply said as he moved past her to go downstairs. Unconvinced, Casey quickly grabbed his arm.

"Derek. If you do anything to ruin this party for Jake, I swear I will cut off your balls." She threatened. Derek wasn't sure if she was serious or not, but he sure as hell did not want to find out.

"I promise not to make a scene." Derek said, convincingly this time. Satisfied, Casey let go of his arm and smiled at him before following him downstairs. Edwin and Lizzie were in the kitchen talking to each other. Edwin looked up to see Casey walk in, Derek was taking his time, and went back to talking to Lizzie without acknowledging Casey. Seeing this, Derek shook his head and tried his best not to attack Edwin at that very moment. He caught up with Casey in the kitchen and put his arm around her and stood there, watching Edwin and Lizzie.

It took a while for Edwin to notice his older brother, but when he did he smiled and went to him a hug. Although, Derek backed up to stop the hug, and Edwin looked at him curiously, still smiling.

"Still not into hugs, huh bro?" Edwin laughed. Derek just stared at him.

"No. I just don't like hugging traitors." He replied matter-of-factly. Suddenly, the tension in the room thickened, and Casey and Lizzie looked at each other nervously. Edwin stood with his mouth open. Derek turned around and closed the door so no one would see the scene that was unfolding. He knew he promised Casey he wouldn't ruin the party, but it was hard to keep calm.

Finally, Edwin spoke, "W-what are you talking about? I was on your side."

"That's the problem." Derek said.

Edwin was confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Damn it Ed!" Derek said, frustrated. "You weren't supposed to be on my side. I needed you to be there for Casey, not turn your back on her!"

"What? She's the one-" Edwin started, but Derek cut him off.

"Don't you dare finish that sentence." Derek warned. He walked over to Casey, who was sitting on a stool at the island. "Don't you dare Edwin. I asked you to do one thing before I left. ONE thing! And you couldn't even do that." Edwin froze. Lizzie and Casey looked at him in shock.

"What are you talking about Derek?" Casey asked him curiously. Derek glared at Edwin.

"I left Edwin a note telling him to look out for you Case." Derek told her, not taking his eyes off of Edwin. "What happened Ed? Didn't get the note?"

"You actually expected me to be there for the person that drove you away?"

Derek rolled his eyes. "I specifically wrote on the note that this wasn't about her or any of you guys, you idiot."

"But she-"

"WILL YOU SHUT UP? You're starting to sound like a fucking broken record! Me leaving wasn't anyone else's, and especially not Casey's goddamn fault!" Derek yelled. "And then you got Lizzie to turn her back on her own sister." He looked at Lizzie. "Nice, Liz." He added, disgusted. Lizzie looked down, ashamed.

Edwin glared at Casey. "Is that what she told you, Derek? She just had to put the blame of her own fuck ups on someone else."

Derek had enough. He balled his hand into a fist and took a hard swing at Edwin.

"Derek!" "Edwin!" Lizzie and Casey cried at the same time. Edwin fell over for a second before bringing himself back up. He gently licked his bloody lip and wiped the rest of the blood with his hand.

Derek got close to Edwin's face and snarled, "Casey actually defended you. If this wasn't my son's birthday, I would have beaten you to a bloody pulp." Then he opened the kitchen door and walked back to the party. Casey gave Lizzie a small smile and followed him.

Edwin looked at Lizzie. She glared back at him, shaking her head. "He left you a note? He left you a NOTE? What else did it say?" Edwin just stared at her. "What else did it say?" She asked again.

"He didn't say which one, but that he was going to school." He whispered.

Lizzie put her face in her hands. "What the hell is wrong with you, Edwin? How could you keep something like that from the family?"

"It's not like he said which school." Edwin tried to defend himself.

"But at least it would make us worry less!" Lizzie stressed. She started towards the living room. "I'm staying here tonight." She said.

"What?" Edwin was confused.

Lizzie turned to face him. "And you better fix this with Derek and Casey, because I'm not coming home with you until you do."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"I don't care. Do what you need to. I'm staying here until they forgive you."

"But you've got finals in a few weeks."

"Then you better make it quick." And with that, she went to find Casey.

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**So, did Derek do a good job of how he handled Edwin? :P**

**R&R please...**


	9. Special Moments

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own LWD:(**

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"There you are." Derek turned to see Casey standing behind him. She closed the door and sat down beside him on the front steps. She looked at him and said, "Thank you for standing up for me." Derek smiled at her and gently touched her cheek. "But you shouldn't have punched him. You could have seriously hurt him. Or worse, gotten hurt yourself." She reprimanded. Derek laughed and looked down.

"I'm sorry for not keeping my promise." He told her.

Casey looked at him curiously. "But you did. You promised not to ruin the party. And from what I just saw, the party is still at full swing." He looked at her in shock. She laughed as she hugged him.

"You know, I was serious back there."

"What about?" She asked him curiously.

"I really would have beaten the crap out of him if it wouldn't ruin the party." Derek sighed. "It took everything in me to stop."

"You should have kept going." Lizzie said from behind. Derek and Casey looked at her curiously. "He needs a serious wake up call. Not that I don't deserve that either." She whispered. Derek sighed as he got up.

"It looks like you already had one." He gave her a small smile, then he looked at Casey and back at Lizzie. "I'll give you two some privacy. Besides," He rubbed his arms with his hands. "I'm freezing." He went back inside.

Lizzie looked shamefully at her older sister. "Look, I'm -" She started, but was cut off when Casey got up and gave her a tight hug.

"I know." Casey whispered. "It's okay. I'm just glad to have my sister back." She smiled. Lizzie was shocked, but hugged her right back.

Suddenly the front door opened and Derek's head popped out. "Look ladies, I know I said I would give you some privacy, but Jake is about to open his presents." And with that, the three of them went back inside.

Jake was sitting in his dad's old chair and was surrounded by people and most importantly to him, a ton of presents. Derek and Casey stood by, smiling and watching as Jake's face lit up with each present he got. Finally it was time for Jake to open up Derek's present. Derek held his breath as he watched his son open the big box that held a brand new bicycle. Jake looked inside and when he saw what was inside, his face lit up a thousand times brighter than it was before.

"Whoa!" He exclaimed. Casey beamed as she watched her son bounce up and down with excitement.

"What is it Jake?" Lizzie asked. Everyone was curious as to what Jake had gotten that would make him so happy.

"It's a brand new bicycle!" Jake said happily. He got up and ran to Derek. "Thanks dad." He said as he hugged him.

"No problem buddy." Derek whispered as he hugged his son tightly. He didn't know what else to say. It was the first time that Jake had called him 'dad'. Casey wiped the tears that formed in her eyes as she watched the special father-son moment in front of her.

()()()()()()()()()

It was the end of the party, and the only people left were the MacDonald-Venturis. Apart from Edwin, who left shamefully, since Lizzie had insisted on staying. Nathan and Jake were playing upstairs while everyone else cleaned up. Casey was doing the dishes when Derek joined her and started to help her. She looked up at him and smiled as she handed him a plate to dry. They worked in a comfortable silence.

When they were done, Derek turned to look at Casey. She looked up and smiled. "What are you thinking about?"

"What are you doing tonight?" He asked casually. Casey eyes widened in surprise.

"U-uhh. Nothing. Why?" She went back to wiping the already clean counter.

"I was thinking that since Jake is staying here for the night, we could hang out." Derek replied, watching her carefully. "You know, get some take-out, watch movies. Like old times."

"Uhm. Like old times." Casey repeated without looking at him. "I don't know."

Seeing her discomfort, Derek grabbed her shoulders gently and shifted her so she would have to look at him. "Chill Case. I meant as friends ofcourse."

Casey let out a breath of relief. "As friends?" Derek nodded. "Okay. That sounds like fun." She smiled.

"Casey!" They heard Marti call from upstairs. "Can you help me with something?"

"Yeah! Be right up!" Casey called back. She looked up at Derek and smiled. "As friends." She nodded and quickly went upstairs.

"Yeah," Derek muttered to himself. "As friends." He whispered sadly. He sighed and went to see if his dad or Nora needed help.

()()()()()()()()()()

Derek and Casey decided to order in and watch the latest James Bond movie. Casey wasn't much of a James Bond fan but she didn't want anything romantic so she didn't argue with Derek when he suggested it. She fell asleep against Derek's chest about half way through the movie.

After the movie, Derek carried her to her bedroom and placed her gently on the bed and covered her with a blanket. He looked at her sleeping form and gently brushed some hair away from her eyes. Then he kissed her forehead and turned to leave. On his way out of the room, he noticed something on top of her dresser. There was picture of the two of them together from their senior prom, and next to her jewelry box, there laid the locket that he had given her all those years ago for Valentine's Day. He picked it up and opened it, it was left unchanged. The picture that he put in it, was still there. He sighed as he placed the locket back to it's place, thinking of how he really messed up through out all these years.

He walked out of the room quietly and left the apartment. But he didn't go home, he went to the park that he and Casey always went after their dates and walked around for hours, contemplating what he should do about the feelings that were rushing back to him.

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**This chapter was fun to write and so far it's my favourite one :)**

**R&R please...**


	10. Forgiveness and Skating

**Disclaimer: I don't own LWD :'(**

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The next morning, Casey woke up confused. She didn't remember going to bed the night before, so she figured that Derek must have put her to bed. She smiled to herself and got out of bed. She took a shower and called Derek to remind him that they were going Sam and Emily's for dinner and that they would meet there. After she hung up with him, she went to pick Jake up from her mom and George's.

She parked in the driveway and noticed Edwin getting out of his car at the same time. She got out herself and was heading for the house, she was used to not talking to Edwin.

"Casey! Wait!" Edwin called. Casey stopped and turned around slowly. She looked at him curiously. "Last night, I had a lot of time to think. And I realized that I was a jerk to you all of these years. I'm sorry." He said. Casey narrowed her eyes and stayed quiet for a moment before responding.

()()()()()()()()

"You what?"

"I just want this to be over and done with." Casey whined. She and Derek were in Sam and Emily's living room while they waited for their friends to bring in the drinks.

"Casey. Come on. Don't you have self respect?" Derek asked. Casey glared at him for a second, then rolled her eyes.

"What's going on?" Emily asked as she and Sam walked in with four glasses of iced tea. They set the glasses down and sat down across from their friends.

"Casey here," Derek pointed at her. "has forgiven Edwin already. After one day!"

"What is the big deal about this?" Casey sighed. She looked at Emily, who nodded to let her know that she agreed with her.

"Casey, he needs to suffer. After everything that he has put you and the rest of the family through."

Casey looked appalled. "Derek, we all already suffered. Even Edwin, believe it or not."

"Casey," Sam started. "I hate to say it, but Derek is right. Besides how do you know he's being sincere? I mean after six years of thinking he's right, he all of a sudden asks you to forgive him after his girlfriend threatened to practically dump him." He stated.

"Yes. Yes!" Derek exclaimed. "See? Sam is exactly right."

Emily glared at her husband. "Sam. You are not exactly helping."

"Ugh." Casey screeched. "I just want this stupidity to be behind us once and for all." She glared at Derek. "And if you really care about me, you will let this go." Then she got up and walked out of the room. Derek stared after her.

He looked at Sam and Emily. "Am I a complete jerk for wanting to punish Edwin?"

"Yes." "No." Emily and Sam said at the same time. Emily looked at Sam and rolled her eyes, then she looked at Derek seriously and said, "Look, Casey is right. You leaving hurt everyone, and it hurt Edwin almost as much as it hurt Casey and Marti. You're his big brother, he looked up to you. And sure he shouldn't have held Casey responsible for so long, but I don't blame him for needing to take his anger out on someone. Being a father, I would expect you to be a bit more understanding now."

Derek sighed and got up to find Casey. He found her in the bathroom with the door closed. He gently knocked on the door.

"Casey. I'm sorry. Please come out." He called. "I promise to let this thing with Edwin go. Just please come out." After a moment, the door finally opened and Casey walked out. She had red eyes and she was wiping her cheeks with a tissue. Derek wrapped his arms around her.

"Do you promise to be nice?" Casey asked as she looked up at him.

Derek hesitated. "I...I promise." Casey nodded and smiled. She and Derek went back to the living room.

()()()()()()()()

Later that evening, Derek decided to take Casey and Jake out for hot chocolate. Once they got their beverages, they decided to take a walk around a nearby park since it wasn't too cold outside. Across the street, Derek noticed an outdoor skating rink. Their were people skating around, but it wasn't too crowded.

"How about we go skating?" He asked as he motioned to the rink. Jake looked to the place his dad pointed out and got really excited.

"Yeah! Let's go!" He exclaimed happily.

"We don't have skates with us." Casey responded.

"Oh that's fine." Derek said. "We can rent skates." Casey looked skeptical.

"Come on mommy. Please?" Jake pleaded, showing off his best puppy face.

"Yeah. Please?" Derek imitated Jake's puppy face. Casey laughed at the site.

"Oh, alright. Let's go."

After getting their skates, the three of them sat on a nearby bench to put them on. They got up and made their way to the ice. But before Casey got on the ice, she grabbed Derek's arm.

"I have an embarrassing confession to make," She began. "I can't skate."

"Really?" Derek asked, a little surprised. "Is that why you always made excuses when I wanted to take you skating?" Casey nodded. "Well then. Now is the perfect time to learn." Casey's eyes widened in shock, but Derek ignored her and looked down at Jake. "Hey sport, will you help me teach your mom how to skate? I can't do it without you."

"Sure dad." Jake responded happily.

"Alright." Derek looked back at Casey. "Now let's get on the ice. Don't worry, you won't fall." He said when he sensed her panic, and then muttered to Jake. "At least not yet." Jake laughed. When Casey didn't move, Derek grabbed her hands and gently, but with a little force, pulled her onto the ice. She whimpered a bit but gave in.

"Casey, breathe. I'm not gonna let you fall." Derek promised. Casey looked into his eyes and could see that he was telling the truth. She finally relaxed a little. Derek held onto her hand while Jake grabbed his mom's other hand. They both led her further into the middle of the rink and stopped.

"Okay bud. I think I can take it from here. Why don't go and do something fun for a change." Derek said. He looked at Casey and winked. Once Jake skated away, Derek led Casey slowly around the rink. When she was about ot fall, he caught her waist and held her tightly against him. Derek looked into her eyes and was about to lean in to kiss her when he was interrupted.

"I'm sorry, but is that your son?" A girl that looked like she was about 14-years-old, pointed across the rink. Jake was on the ground beside another little boy, both crying.

"Here," Derek gave Casey's hand to the girl. "lead her over." He said and quickly skated over to Jake. When she knew she didn't need to worry too much with Derek around, Casey looked at the girl and smiled sheepishly.

Not being injured, Jake was on his feet in minutes and was back to skating around the rink. Casey tried her best to avoid a moment with Derek like the one they had earlier.

Later, Derek drove Casey and Jake home and promised to see them the next morning. After she put Jake to bed, Casey sat down on the couch and thought about the feelings that were coming back to her.

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**I'm thinking of bringing in a new character into the story and I need some help in choosing a name, so if you don't mind giving me ideas on female names. First and Last :)**

**R&R please...**


	11. Friends

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own LWD:(**

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The next few months were...well they were interesting. To say the least. Derek spent practically everyday with Casey and Jake. Jake was thrilled to spend time with his dad. Derek lived for those times as well, although he was a little confused when it came to Casey because she was acting strange. She avoided any time alone with Derek, and Derek tried to make time for them to be alone so you could see how that would be confusing. One day, Derek decided to talk to Casey about it. The three of them had gotten home late from visiting Lizzie and Edwin in Toronto, so they put Jake right to bed.

"Alright, well I'm beat." Casey said as she tried make an excuse for Derek to leave. "I think I'm going to go to bed as well."

"Uh, yeah. I'll you see tomorrow." Derek muttered. She walked him to the door.

"Yeah, tomorrow." She smiled. Derek was about to leave, but then suddenly changed his mind and turned to face Casey. She looked at him curiously.

"Wait, I need to talk to you."

Casey turned red. This is what she was trying to avoid all along. She turned around without responding and walked into the living room. Derek followed her without hesitation.

"Casey." He said when she didn't look at him. Casey turned and looked at him. "What is going on with you? Why are you avoiding me?"

"What? I'm not avoiding you Derek. Why would I avoid you?" Casey laughed nervously, avoiding his gaze. Derek looked at her intently, he could tell she was uncomfortable.

"Casey, I can see that something is going on with you. You won't look at me, you make excuses when Jake is not around. You refuse to be around me when we're alone." Derek responded. "And I don't know why. Did I do something to offend you or something?"

"No. Of course not."

"Well then, what is it? I thought we were friends." Derek sighed as he sat down on the couch.

Casey sighed. "That's the thing. That is what I want. For us to be friends."

"Okay. So what the problem?" Derek asked.

"JUST friends." Casey responded. She sat down on a chair across from Derek. "I want to be JUST friends."

"I don't get it." Derek said. Actually, he did get it but he didn't want to admit that. "That's what we are."

"Is that what you really want? You don't want anything more?" Casey asked him.

He did, he wanted much more. But he wasn't about to admit that to Casey. "I want what you want, Casey." Derek said. Casey searched his face, she wasn't sure what she saw, but she decided to let it go.

"Okay. Then it's settled." She said. Derek nodded. They got up and walked to the door. Derek hugged her and left. Casey closed the door and leaned against it. Tears formed in her eyes as she choked out a sob. She had an ache in her chest and she knew exactly what it meant.

Her heart was broken.

()()()()()()()()()()

Derek got into his car and leaned his head back. He looked at the clock and saw that it was 10:07, he figured it wasn't too late yet so he took out his phone and dialled.

"Hello?"

"Hey Sam." Derek said. "Am I calling too late?"

"Oh hey Derek. No. It's fine." Sam answered. "What's up?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to meet up?" Derek said. He needed someone to talk to.

"Uh, yeah. Sure. I guess that's okay." Sam responded.

"Okay cool." They made a plan to meet at their favourite, old hang out, Smellie Nellies.

When Sam arrived, Derek was already there, drinking a beer. Sam could see that there was something bothering his best friend. Derek looked up and waved him over.

"Hey man." Derek greeted.

"Hey. What's up?" Sam asked curiously.

"Nothing, why would anything be up?" Derek answered. He took a sip of his beer and noticed Sam staring at him and the beer intently. "Oh this? It's nothing."

"Nothing." Sam repeated. The waiter came with another beer for Derek and asked Sam if he wanted anything, he ordered one himself and looked at Derek. "How many have you already had Derek?"

"Um, not sure."

Sam shook his head. "Don't play with me Derek. You called me for a reason and you're almost drunk. Tell me what's going on."

"Nothing." Derek muttered.

"Well then I'm going home." Sam said. "I have a new baby at home, you know, your goddaughter. And I don't need to be here if you're fine." He got up and started walking towards the exit.

"Sam, wait." Derek sighed. "You're right. There is something bothering me." Sam sat down and motioned Derek to continue. "I'm, uh, I'm starting to uh," Derek took a deep breath. "I'm starting to fall for Casey again." Sam stared at him.

"Okay," Sam said slowly. "Is that it?" Derek looked at Sam, confused.

"What do you mean 'is that it'?" Derek asked. Sam rolled his eyes.

"Dude, I'm not blind. I sensed it months ago." He replied.

"Oh." Derek muttered. "Anyway..." He told Sam about the conversation he had with Casey earlier that evening. When he was done, he looked at Sam and asked, "What do you think I should do?"

Sam thought about it for a moment before replying, "Nothing."

"Nothing?" Derek asked.

"Look, do you really want to make it weird between you two? I mean you have a child now, so you will have to see each other no matter what. You might as well just be happy with what you've got, and not ruin things." Sam explained. Derek stayed quiet. He finished his beer and looked down.

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**R&R please :)**


	12. The Cycle of Misery

**Disclaimer: I don't own LWD :'(**

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After his talk with Sam, Derek realized that his best friend was right. He knew that he was lucky enough to be back in Casey's life and he shouldn't push for more. He didn't deserve it. So he tried to put his feelings aside.

Derek asked Casey if it was okay if he could spend some time alone with Jake and she agreed. He took Jake to the park almost everyday after work, and on some Saturday's he took him to the arcade. He found that he loved spending some one-on-one time with his son. But he found himself missing Casey alot. Sure the three of them still spent time together, like going to see their family and every Sunday going to Sam and Emily's for dinner, but he found himself thinking about Casey alot more than he expected he would.

Casey wasn't enjoying their time apart much either. She didn't want to admit it but she has gotten used to Derek's constant company, and not only that, she missed it. She tried avoiding any alone time with Derek for months, and now that she got what she wanted, she realized it really wasn't what she wanted all along.

One night when Jake was over at his friend Matt's house for a sleepover, Casey decided to have a bubble bath and then sit on the couch with a movie and a glass of red wine **(Don't worry, she's not turning into an alcoholic ;)**. But instead of paying attention to the movie, she found her thoughts drifting to Derek. As she was about to get back into the movie, she finally realized why she couldn't stop thinking about Derek. She was in love with him, fully and whole-heatedly. She took a gulp of her wine and closed her eyes. She shook her head as she was starting to finally admit to herself what she was feeling. But she didn't want to like feel that, she felt it once before and then her heart was broken. She didn't want history to repeat itself, especially now that there was one other person in the picture, a more important person. She didn't want Jake to lose his father, so she decided to put her feelings aside, no matter how much it hurt.

Derek on the other hand, was starting to think that giving into his feelings was the best idea. No matter what he did, his feelings were getting stronger. But when he came close to coming clean about his feelings, he felt nothing but a burst of pain, because he knew that he didn't have a chance with Casey. She would never take him back. Why would she? He ripped out her heart and stomped on it. It was too late.

()()()()()()()()

It's too late.

It's too late.

That is what Derek kept telling himself every time he thought about Casey in a way that he shouldn't. Getting over someone you have a child with is close to impossible. But it has been done, right? So why was it that Derek couldn't do it? Well, maybe because in his heart, he didn't want to. But God knows he tried. He tried so much, that it was tearing him up inside. He tried so much, everyone around him could tell that he was changing. He buried himself in his work when he wasn't with Jake and when he was, he didn't focus on anything or anyone other than his son.

Casey was worried about Derek, so she was always thinking about him. And more often than not, her thoughts turned into the ones she didn't want on her mind. And because she was always worried about him, she was always checking on him. Which made Derek think of her more than he wanted to, which caused him to act weird. It was a cycle that neither of them could break. So Derek and Casey were miserable pretty much all the time.

After a few months, Sam and Emily couldn't take it anymore. They decided to talk to their respective best friends.

Sam invited Derek over with Jake so Casey and Emily, well mainly Emily, could have a break from the kids and go to the mall or something. Casey dropped Derek and Jake off at Sam's and picked Emily up at the same time.

Since it was summer, Sam and Derek decided to sit in the backyard while Jake and Ava played with little Mackinzee in the sandbox.

Sam brought Derek a drink and sat down in a lawn chair. He looked at his best friend hesitantly before saying, "Look man, I need talk to you."

Derek looked at him curiously. "Okay. Shoot."

"Emily and I were talking and we think it's best if you and Casey talk."

"Talk about what?" Derek asked nervously.

"You know what about." Sam replied. Derek just stared at him. "About how you two feel about each other. I really think-"

"Wait." Derek interrupted. "You are the one who told me I shouldn't pursue my feelings towards her and just get over it. And now you're telling me that you think it's best that I tell her?" Derek shook his head.

"Derek, chill. We noticed how miserable you two have been these past few months. I'm not saying anything will happen, but I think you should still tell her."

"You don't get it." Derek said, frustrated. "If she doesn't feel the same way, it will make it worse."

Sam shook his head. "I don't think it will. I mean sure, it might be hard at first. But it's better than being miserable and depressed for the rest of your life."

"I am not depressed." Derek told him. Sam raised his eyebrows. "Okay fine. Maybe a little."

"There you go. And don't you think that it will be better for Jake if you're happy?"

"Do you always have to play the 'son card'?" Derek rolled his eyes.

Sam laughed. "Yeah. Because I know it's only thing that works on you now."

Derek sighed as he looked at his son. He only wanted the best for him and he knew that Sam was right.

()()()()()()()()

"Em. I'm not going to talk about this with you." Casey told her best friend when Emily asked her to tell Derek how she really feels.

"But Casey, you love him. And I know that normally I wouldn't approve you going back to him after what he's done, but you've been miserable for months." Emily said. "I think your happiness depends on it."

Casey shook her head and stayed quiet for a moment. She finally looked at Emily with tears in her eyes and said, "I'm scared. I'm scared that he's going to leave me again. I worse than that, I'm scared that he's going to leave Jake."

Emily nodded, she understood why Casey would feel that way. "He's not going to leave you again. He loves you and Jake so much. I can see the way he looks at the two of you."

Casey bit her lip.

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**Thanks to mac-reye for the name 'Mackinzee' :) That's not the character that I was talking about before though, so I'm still looking for ideas for a female name. **

**R&R please :)  
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	13. Don't Say You Love Me

**Thank you all for the ahh-mazing reviews:) **

**This chapter is kind of based on the song "Don't Say You Love Me" by The Corrs**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own LWD:(**

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Derek decided to, once again, take Sam's advice and talk to Casey. He didn't want to do it in front of Jake in case it didn't go well, so he arranged for Jake to stay at Nora and George's for the night.

That evening, Casey, not knowing anything about his plan, was reading on the balcony when she heard a knock on the door. She was surprised to see that it was Derek.

"Hey, uh can I come in"?" He asked nervously.

"Yeah, s-sure." Casey moved to the side to let him in. They went to the living room and sat down. Derek looked down nervously and didn't say anything. So Casey asked, "So what's up?"

Derek looked at her and said, "I have a confession to make."

Casey looked at him through squinted eyes. "Okay?" She motioned for him to continue.

Derek took a deep breath and looked into her eyes. "I...I love you."

Casey's eyes widened. "I love you too." She said as she got up. "I mean we've gotten so close ever since you got back and you're a great friend." She told him, not meeting his gaze.

Derek shook his head as he got up as well and took her hands into his. "No, I am in love with you." He told her.

Casey closed her eyes and shook her head. "Please don't." She whispered, but Derek didn't hear her.

"You are my world. You and Jake both. I can't stop thinking about you." He admitted.

"Please stop." She repeated, a little louder this time.

But Derek continued, "I think it's fate that you got pregnant. I think it's fate I got transferred here of all places in the wor-"

"Derek! Just stop! Please." Casey begged, she opened her eyes and looked at him pleadingly. Tears filled her eyes, but she willed herself not to cry. "You can't just show up after six years and tell me that you love me. It doesn't work that way."

"But I do love you." Derek whispered.

Casey sighed. "I know. But we've done this before, and then you ended it. And it nearly killed me. I don't think I would be able to handle that again." Casey said.

"You won't have to." Derek promised. She stayed quiet for a moment. He searched her face to see what she was thinking.

Casey looked at him sadly. "I don't think I can believe you." She choked out. Derek winced and Casey could see the pained expression he had in his eyes. She looked down.

"Look," Derek said. "I know that I don't deserve your trust, but I promise you that I'm here till the end. I never ever stopped loving you." He tried to convince her. "I love you, I need you."

"Don't say you love me," Casey said. Derek winced again. "not unless you mean forever. Don't tell me that you need if you're not going to stay. Like I said before, I don't think I'm going to be able to take it if you break my heart again. And I will never, never forgive you if Jake is affected in the process."

Derek looked into her eyes. "I promise to be here forever, I will never leave you or Jake. I love you." He told her again.

Casey searched his face before responding, "I love you too, I never stopped."

Derek let out a breath and captured her lips with his. She immediately kissed him back and they melted into each other. The kiss was better than either of them expected, it was soft and sweet at first, but it soon filled with an ultimate passion. They kissed each other hungrily, making up for the past six years. Derek picked her up, carried her to her bedroom and placed her on the bed. All the while, not breaking breaking the kiss. He kissed down to her neck and she moaned when she felt him nibble and suck on her neck. They both undressed and as he looked at her, he knew that she was the most beautiful woman on the face of the planet. They made passionate love that night.

()()()()()()()()

Casey felt a pair of strong, familiar arms wrapped around her. She smiled and opened her eyes. She shifted a little to look at the owner of said arms. He tightened his grip on her and murmered, "Morning." A smile playing on his lips. She leaned in and kissed him. "Mmm, I can stay like this forever." Derek said.

Casey laughed. "That makes two of us." She leaned closer against him and closed her eyes. She fell into a comfortable slumber until she felt a pair of lips on her neck. She opened her eyes and saw Derek standing over her. He was holding a tray of food. She smiled as she got up. "Aw, you made me breakfast? That is so sweet." Derek placed the tray on her lap and sat down beside her.

"Let's not get used to that. I have keep up my image."

Casey raised an eyebrow. "What image?" Derek shot her a mock-glare. She giggled. "Aw, you are such a softie. And you know it."

Derek shook his head. "What have I become?" He said as he dramatically placed a hand on his heart. Casey giggled again. Derek laughed and said, "Eat up, we have to pick Jake up." Casey nodded as she shoved a piece of toast into her mouth and took a sip of orange juice. "I'm gonna go take a shower." He said as he got up. He kissed her temple and went to the bathroom.

Casey sighed and and smiled to herself.

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**R&R please:)**


	14. Perfect

**This chapter is a little short but I will make up fo it in the next chapter :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own LWD :'(**

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Derek and Casey walked into their parent's house to see the whole family, including Lizzie and Edwin, sitting on the couch, watching t.v. When Jake saw that his parents were there, he ran up to them and gave a hug.

"Good morning my beautiful, wonderful family." Derek exclaimed happily. Everyone stared at him as if he's gone crazy. Casey pursed her lips to keep from laughing and shook her head.

"Uhh, what's going on?" Edwin asked, a little scared.

"I know!" Marti exclaimed. "He's high." Derek stared at his younger sister, shocked that she even knew what that meant.

"Marti." George looked at his older son. "She's wrong, right?"

"Of course she's wrong." Derek said, still too happy to get mad at the accusation. "Casey and I have a little announcement to make." He said as he put his arm around her. "Well, actually, a big announcement but you get the idea." He looked at her and smiled, she smiled back, her blue eyes sparkling with excitement.

Everyone waited for him to continue, although they already had some idea what he meant. Of course he didn't tell them anything when he dropped Jake off the night before, but they weren't stupid.

"Derek and I are back together." Casey grinned.

"That's great!"

"Well, finally!"

"Yay!"

Everyone congratulated them. Casey sighed happily. She was glad that everyone was happy for them. Derek looked at Casey and couldn't help but smile, she was absolutely beautiful, and he could tell that she was just as happy as he was.

()()()()()()()()

Sam and Emily were really happy for them too, of course they were the ones who got them to finally admit their feelings to each other. Jake didn't know what was going on, but he could tell that his parents were happier than they were before and he was glad to be spending time with the both of them, at the same time. He liked the fact that his dad practically lived with them, spending most nights over.

Derek still couldn't believe that Casey took him back. He felt like the luckiest person on the planet. He finally had the perfect life, a great job, the most amazing son in the whole world, and of course the most perfect girlfriend.

Casey felt like she was in heaven. Just like Derek, she knew she had the best family in the world. She couldn't help but think about how for the past six years that Derek wasn't around, she felt guilty that she couldn't give Jake everything he needed. Sure, they weren't the most well off, but it was never about the money. And of course she loved him with her whole heart and never failed to show him, but she knew she was never able to fill in for a father.

_A few weeks later_

"Thank you very much." Derek told the sales clerk, and walked out into the mall. Emily was waiting for him on a nearby bench.

"Any problems?" She asked him as they started to walk towards the exit.

"Nope. It's all taken care of." He told her. They walked to his car and got in. He dropped her off at home. "Thanks." He said. He waited for her to walk inside the house, then he drove away. He walked into his apartment and looked at the clock. It was almost time to pick Jake up from school. After he put his purchase away, deep in his drawer, he was on his way.

()()()()()()()()

"Hi, daddy." The tall blonde said as she gave her father a kiss on the cheek. He smiled at her and motioned for her sit.

"You all ready, princess?" He asked her. "When are you leaving?"

"Yes, I'm all packed. My flight is at 8am tomorrow morning." She told her father excitedly. "I'll be there just in time for him to be back from work."

"Do you have the right address? I don't want you getting lost."

She nodded. "Yes. I talked to one of his old co-workers and they confirmed it to be right." There was a knock on the door. They both looked up to see the mail-room clerk walk in.

"I'm so sorry for interrupting Mr. White." He said quickly. "Kimberly." He nodded towards the blonde and left.

"Anyway." Mr. White looked at his daughter. "I'm going to miss you princess."

"I'm going to miss you too daddy." Kimberly smiled. Then she sighed happily. "Tomorrow at this time, I'm going to be in London with the love of my life." She squealed. "Derek is going to be so happy to see me."

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**Yes I know. DRAMA! lol**

**And thanks to itsi3 and Majorcarterwannabe for the names :)**

**R&R please...**


	15. Uninvited Visitor

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own LWD:(**

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Derek and Casey were sitting comfortably on his couch, watching t.v, when there was a knock on the door. Derek got up and went to see who it was. He opened the door to see his ex-girlfriend, Kimberly White beaming at him.

"Ohh, I missed you so much." She squealed as she threw her arms around his neck. Derek just stood there, shocked beyond words. Casey rushed to the hallway to see what was going on, only to find her boyfriend being practically attacked by some blonde bimbo.

"Uhh, what is going on here?" Casey demanded. "Who are you?" Kimberly looked at Casey and immediately saw her as a threat. She shot her a glare before turning to Derek, who instantly sensed danger.

"Derek, who is this?" Kimberly asked him, pointing towards Casey.

"Who am I? I'm Derek's girlfriend." Casey snapped. She never disliked someone so much right upon meeting them, but who did this girl think she was? "And I believe I asked you first." She crossed her arms. Derek pulled away from Kimberly's embrace without hesitation and walked over to Casey, putting his arm around her.

"Girlfriend?" Kimberly shrieked. She immediately recovered and smirked. "Well, I'm his fiance."

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**Cliffhanger!**

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**I'm just kidding :D Keep reading :P There's a picture of Kimberly on my profile.**

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"What?" Both Casey and Derek exclaimed. Casey slowly turned to glare at Derek, who was staring at Kimberly, completely bewildered.

"You are not-! I am not-! We are not-!" Derek freaked. He was totally flushed. He glanced down at Casey, who was still glaring at him. "Casey, we are not," He looked at Kimberly. "NOT! engaged." He looked back at Casey. "You have to believe me."

"Then who is she?" Casey asked. She glared at Kimberly.

"Not engaged?" Kimberly asked before Derek could answer. "But, but-"

"Kimberly. We broke a long time ago." Derek reminded her.

"Yeah, because you were moving here. And now that I'm here," She said happily. "we can finally get married. Just like we talked about."

"No," Derek growled. "you talked. With your parents. I never said I wanted to marry you." He said. "Besides, we broke up long before I was even considered for this position." Casey looked at Derek through squinted eyes. He was really frustrated.

Kimberly looked like she was about to cry. "But, but we were about to get back together before you told me about your transfer."

"No we weren't." Derek snapped. He knew that he was being mean, but he knew it was the only way to get through to her. "You called me to go to lunch so you could talk me into getting back together with you, and I took that as an opportunity to tell you that I was moving. That does not mean I would've taken you back otherwise." He pointed to the door. "Now please leave."

Kimberly gasped. She stared at Derek in disbelief before spinning on her heel and stocking out, slamming the door behind her. Derek winced. He turned to Casey and gently touched her cheek. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the touch.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that baby." He whispered. He knew that she was in slight shock over what just happened. He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her lips. She immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss.

()()()()()()()()

Kimberly was beyond pissed. How could he humiliate her like that? And who in the hell was the freak that called herself his girlfriend? She took a deep breath and calmed herself. She planned to talk to him when _she _wouldn't be around. She didn't know when he would be alone, so she decided to pay him a visit at work the next day.

Derek was in his office and he just got off the phone with Casey. She had called him to remind him that Lizzie and Edwin were taking Nathan and Jake to the zoo after school. Derek was just about to get back to his work when his secretary walked in.

"Mr. Venturi, there is someone here to see you." She told him.

"Okay, send them in. Thanks Viola." She nodded and left. A moment later, Kimberly walked in. She was carrying to cups of Starbucks coffee.

Derek sighed. "What do you want Kimberly?" He asked as he looked at her warily. He didn't have the energy to deal with her.

Kimberly smiled as she set the coffees on his desk. "Oh, Derry," Derek winced at the name. What was it with some of his girlfriends and sappy nicknames? She walked around his desk and sat down on his lap. Before he could protest, she stuck her tongue down his throat. Just as fast as it started though, he pushed her away and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Kimberly stared at him, not able to believe what just happened. He suddenly got up and walked as far away from her as possible. He turned around and glared at her.

"What is wrong with you? I told you that it's over. I have a girlfriend." He said, extremely frustrated.

"So break up with her." Kimberly said with a shrug, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. She sat down in his chair and waited for Derek to agree with her.

Derek shook his head. "I don't want to. I love her. Besides, wwe have a son together." He confessed.

Kimberly looked at him abrubtly. "A son? Since when? You haven't even been here a full year." She demanded. Then she thought of something. "Oh. You mean you adopted her bastard child?"

Derek's eyes turned dark as he glared at her. "No. I didn't." He snapped at her in a cruel voice. "He's my son. He was born a year after I left London six years ago. And don't you ever call him a bastard again."

Kimberly winced but quickly recovered. She got up and walked over to him. "So you're not going to leave her?"

"Never."

"That's too bad then." She ran a finger across his chest and looked at him seductively. "But you'll be back Venturi. Because, you always come back to me." And after one last kiss, she left the room. Derek shuddered and glowered the ground. It was true, they broke up many times before and he always went back to her. But not this time. Casey was the only one in his heart. He ran his hands through his hair and looked at his chair.

"I'm going to have to burn that."

()()()()()()()()

Inside her car, Kimberly toyed with the cell phone. She slipped it out of Derek's jacket, which was hanging on the back of his chair, when he wasn't looking.

"Now, if he won't end his relationship with that slut, then I'll do it for him." She smirked.

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**Hahaha, drama, drama, drama. :P**


	16. Stolen Phones and Misunderstandings

**Disclaimer: I don't own LWD :'(****

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Casey got home from work earlier than normal so she decided to give Derek a call. What she didn't know, was that Derek had to stay at work a little later that afternoon.

She picked up the phone and speed dialled his cell.

After a few rings, someone picked up, "Hello?" But it wasn't Derek, it was a woman.

Casey looked at the phone, confused, before saying, "Uh, sorry. I must have the wrong number."

"Oh, are you trying to reach Derek?" The woman asked cheerfully. Suddenly, Casey recognised the voice.

"Kimberly?" She demanded. "What the hell are you doing with Derek's phone?"

"Did you want to talk to him?" Kimberly asked, ignoring Casey's question. "I'm sorry, but he just went out. He'll be back soon, but I don't think he'll want to speak to you. I mean there is a reason why he left his phone with me." She explained.

Casey was in shock. "And what reason would that be?" She asked slowly.

"I have amazing news!" Kimberly exclaimed. "Derek called me this morning to come to his office for lunch. And when I got there, he proposed. Isn't that great? Anyway, he didn't want to hurt your feelings, so he asked me to break the news to you."

Casey opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

"Oh, and he asked to ask you to say goodbye to his son for him." Kimberly continued.

"G-goodbye?" Casey choked out.

"Yeah. Since he's going to be marrying me, he said that he doesn't want others to come in between our starting our own family. Oh but don't worry, he'll send you money every once in a while for the kid."

Casey dropped the phone and stood frozen.

Kimberly heard a thud and smirked, knowing exactly what just happened. She hung up the phone, quite pleased with herself. She found Derek's spare key under the welcome mat and went into the apartment. She sat down on his couch to wait for him to get home. After a while though, she got bored and decided to explore. She went into his bedroom first.

"Ugh." She made a disgusted sound when she saw all the photos on top of his dresser. All the photos were of Casey, the boy and Derek. Then she saw a homemade card, she picked it up and looked inside. All it said was, "Happy Father's Day, Love Jake". Kimberly shook her head and crumpled the card up. She opened the top drawer. It contained a bunch of papers, a bottle of cologne, and more pictures. She was about to close it when she noticed something under the stack of papers way at the back. She reached in and took it out. It was a small velvet box. She opened it. Snuggled in the little cushion, was a white gold, princess cut, diamond ring.

"He was going to propose to her." She whispered disgustedly. She closed it and threw it back into the drawer. She shut the drawer and went into the living room to wait for Derek.

()()()()()()()()

Derek finally left work and was headed to Casey's. He was thinking about how to break it to her that Kimberly came to his office earlier, and worse than that, kissed him twice. He knew he had to tell her the truth, they had promised each other that there would not be any secrets between them.

Casey was sitting on the couch with her head in her hands, when she heard the front door open.

"Oh no, Jake." She whispered. She wiped her tear smeared face and got up.

"Case? Are you home?" She heard Derek call out. He walked into the living room and smiled. "There you are." Casey looked into his eyes and saw regret. _It must be true._ She thought to herself.

Casey glared at him. "What do you want?"

Derek looked confused. "What do you mean? I-"

"Don't worry, your fiance told me everything. You don't need explain yourself. Now leave before Jake comes home."

"Case, what-"

"I said LEAVE." She walked up to him and shoved him towards the door. He didn't fight her so she was somewhat successful, but not fully. "Go before I call the police." She threatened. He didn't budge. "LEAVE!" She shrieked, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Derek didn't know what was going on but he didn't want to upset her any more. So he left, giving her time to calm down. Once the door closed, Casey dropped down on her knees and sobbed.

"Oh god." She choked out. The only thing on her mind was that she didn't know what to tell Jake.

()()()()()()()()

Outside her door, Derek heard Casey's crying and closed his eyes. _She must have already found out._ He thought. He decided to give her some space and went home.

Kimberly was getting extremely restless when Derek walked into the apartment. He saw her and froze.

"Hi sweetie." She smiled and walked up to give him a kiss, but before she could, he leaned back. She looked at him and pouted. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

"Uh, no." Derek said. "What the hell are you doing in my apartment?" He demanded as he moved away from her grasp.

"Oh, well, I knew you didn't want to hurt Casey by breaking up with her, so I helped a little."

"What do you mean you helped a little?" He asked her slowly. "Did you tell her about your visit to my office today?"

"Uh, yeah." Kimberly nodded slowly. "I did."

Derek ran his hands through his hair and glowered at her. "God dammit Kimberly. Will you just leave us the hell alone? Do you realize how much you've upset Casey? I swear, I will call the cops and report you as a stalker if you don't leave now." He threatened. "I will never be with you, Kimberly. No matter what happens between Casey and I." They stood there for a moment, staring each other down.

"Fine." Kimberly snapped, knowing she's already done plenty of damage. She took her purse, and left the apartment without even a glance at Derek. As soon as she left, he sighed and went into his room. He noticed that the card that Jake had given him was crumpled, no doubt thanks to Kimberly, and immediately smoothed it out. He changed out of his work clothes and proceeded to call Casey. He was surprised to find that his cell phone wasn't in his pocket. Figuring that he left at the office, he went to the living room to use his home phone. When he got there though, he noticed that his cell phone was on the couch. _Weird._ He thought to himself. He called Casey only to reach her voice mail. He decided to leave her a message.

"Hey Case, uh, I know why you're upset, but I was wondering if we could discuss this. Please call." He said and hung up.

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**R&R please :P**


	17. Consequences

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own LWD:(**

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"Kimberly here."

"Kimberly, it's Derek." He said into the phone.

She smirked. "Derry, I knew you'd be back. But I'm sorry, I'm back in B.C and I'm over you." She was in heaven, she loved it when Derek grovelled.

Derek shuddered. "I'm not calling to take you back."

"Then what can I do for you?"

"I want to know what you said to Casey." He demanded.

Kimberly rolled her eyes. Why was he so hung up on this girl? "I told you."

"No, I asked you and you agreed, but you didn't tell me what else you said."

"And what makes you think I said anything else?"

"It's been two weeks and she hasn't returned any of my messages. And every time I went to see her and Jake, they were never home." Derek sighed. He was really worried about them.

"I'm sorry, you're breaking up! I can't hear you!" Kimberly suddenly yelled and hung up. She was not about to give him the satisfaction of knowing why Casey was really mad at him.

Derek groaned as he turned off his phone. "Dammit." He ran his hands through his hair and looked at the ceiling. Something was going on. He knew there was more to why Casey was angry with him. But what? He talked to his family, but they didn't know what exactly was wrong.

()()()()()()()()

"Do you want some dessert sweetie?" Casey asked as she brought their dishes to the kitchen. Instead of answering, Jake got up from the table and went to his room. Casey sighed. This has been going on for the past two weeks.

Casey tried her best to explain to Jake why his dad was gone, but Jake was devastated, and for some reason he thought that it was his fault. When Casey tried to convince him that it wasn't his fault, he got it into his head that it was Casey's fault. She didn't really deny it, because deep inside she kind of believe it. Jake barely spoke to her, and he was miserable all the time. Casey didn't know what to do anymore.

She also had to deal with the fact that Derek never stopped calling. She didn't understand why though. Kimberly had told her that he didn't want to speak to her. So why was he calling her?

Casey sat down on the couch and sighed. As much as she knew he needed space, she had to get him to talk to her. She decided that she would take him to her mom and George's, and they would stay there for a week. Kind of like a little vacation. It would be good for them.

()()()()()()()()

Derek was at a meeting at work when his secretary came in. Everyone stopped and looked up, waiting for her to speak.

"I'm sorry for the interruption, but there is a phone call for Mr. Venturi." She said.

"Take a message will you? Thanks." Derek told her. Instead of leaving though, she just stood there.

"Uh, I would, but it's your son's teacher. He says there's an emergency." At that, Derek shot out of his chair. Apologizing to everyone, he rushed out of the room.

He got to his office and grabbed the phone. "Venturi here."

"Mr. Venturi, this is Mr. DeRoma, Jake's teacher. I think you should come down here." He said.

"Is Jake alright?" Derek asked.

"Uh, I think it's best if you came here." Mr. DeRoma said hesitantly. "I already phoned Jake's mother."

"I'll be right there." Derek said and hung up.

When Derek got to the school, Casey wasn't there yet, but a bunch of police men were. Derek's heart stopped when he saw them. He saw Jake's teacher talking to one of the officers and quickly rushed over to them.

"What's going on here?" He demanded.

The officer looked at Derek. "Are you Jake's father?"

"Yeah I am." He answered. Before he could say anything else, Casey was at his side. She looked flushed and worried. She looked at Derek quickly before turning to the teacher.

"Where's Jake?" She immediately asked. Mr. DeRoma and the officer looked at each other nervously.

"Will someone please tell us what the hell is going on?" Derek practically yelled. Casey looked at him, confused at why he was there.

The officer looked at Derek and Casey before asking, "Is there anything going on at home that could have upset Jake in any way?"

They looked at each other. "Well yeah but, why is that relevant here?" Derek asked. The officer looked at them intently.

"Jake's gone."

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**Not the best chapter but... :)**

**R&R please :)**


	18. Missing

**Disclaimer: I don't own LWD :'(****

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A sudden chill passed through Derek's body, while Casey gasped.

"Oh god." She choked out. Derek suddenly pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. She buried her face in his chest and started crying.

"What do you mean he's gone?" Derek demanded. "How could he be gone? This is a goddamn school."

Mr. DeRoma looked at Derek with regret written all over his face. "We believe that it was during recces. He must have ran outside the fence."

"Someone should have been watching him! He's five years old!" Derek yelled. Casey just sobbed harder into his chest. He tightened his grip on her and glared at the teacher. "Wasn't there someone supervising the kids?"

"There- there was, but there are a lot of kids and the supervisor can't keep an eye on all of them at once."

"Then get more damn supervisors!" Derek roared. Everyone was staring at him by now, but he didn't care. All he cared about was his son. "God!"

Suddenly the officer stepped in. "Mr. Venturi, please calm down. Now, we will do everything in our power to find your son. Could you tell us anything that could be helpful? Like why he would be upset, where he would want to go?"

Casey lifted her head and looked at the officer. "He was upset," She sniffled. "He was upset because-" She looked up at Derek.

He suddenly knew why Jake was upset. "He was upset because of me." He told the officer. "You see, his mother and I had a fight a few weeks ago and I hate to say it but I stayed away from them since then."

"Okay, do you have any idea where he would go?"

"I don't think he knows how to get to any place. I mean he's only five years old." Casey whispered. Tears started rolling down her cheeks again. "But he could have gone home, or to his grandparents' house." She paused for a second, Then she thought of something. "I know where he could be."

"Where?" Derek asked.

She looked at up at him. "You're place. I mean he was devastated that you were gone, he must have gone to see you."

Derek looked at the officer. "Well then, let's go."

()()()()()()()()

"Jake!" Derek called as soon as he got home. He ran through the apartment, checking every room, but Jake wasn't there. Casey caught up to Derek.

"Any luck?" She asked him.

"No." He sat down on the couch and put his face in his hands.

"Well then where?" Casey asked, panicking. "He's out there on his own, it's freezing, and now it's starting to rain."

"Call everyone you know. I'm going to call Ed and Liz." Derek told her as he got his phone out.

An hour later, everyone was going around town, looking for Jake.

A few more hours passed and it was starting to get dark. Derek and Casey went back and forth to his place and hers. But had no luck. They were walking around in the rain, hoping to find him. Neither of them said anything to each other for a while.

Casey spoke first. "What are you doing here anyway?" Derek looked at her, confused.

"Same thing as you. Looking for Jake."

"But why? What, you all of a sudden care about him again? What do you think he'll do when we find him and you leave him again?"

"What gave you the idea that I don't care about him? You are the one who cut me out of both your lives." Derek said.

Casey stopped walking and looked at him. "What gave me the idea? Why don't you ask your fiance." She said and started forward again.

Derek stared at her for a moment, totally taken aback . He suddenly caught up with her and grabbed her arm. "What the hell are you talking about? What fiance?"

Casey glared at him. "Kimberly."

"What are you talking about? Where did you get the idea that she was my fiance?" Derek asked. Then it suddenly dawned on him. "She told you that didn't she? She told you that day that I stopped by to see you and you kicked me out."

"Yeah she did. She told me everything."

"And you believed her? God Casey, you can be so gullible sometimes." Derek groaned. He ran his hands through his wet hair.

"Yeah. I believed her. If she was lying, then how did she get a hold of your phone?" Casey demanded.

"My phone? Oh, she must have taken it when she stopped by my office that day." Derek realized.

"Your office, what was she doing there?"

"She tried to convince me to break up with you, and she kissed me," He admitted. "twice."

Casey glowered at the ground.

"How could you have believed her? After everything we've been through? All the wonderful times we had together, with Jake?" Suddenly, Derek's eyes widened. "Oh god!"

Casey looked at him, alarmed. "What is it?"

"I know where he is." Derek started running the other way, with Casey following behind him. He stopped when he reached the park, and walked forward. He couldn't see anything because of the rain, so he walked faster. When he was finally close enough, he could see a small, lying figure just outside the skating rink. He ran forward and bent down.

Jake was curled up, unconscious.

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**R&R please:)**


	19. Our Little Boy

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own LWD:(**

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Derek was pacing around the hallway, while Casey sat in a nearby chair with her head in hands. The rest of the family, and Sam and Emily, were in the waiting room.

Once they found Jake at the park, unconscious, Casey and Derek brought him to the hospital. After checking him, the doctor told them that Jake had a case of severe hypothermia from being out in the cold rain for too long and that they have decided to use a cardiopulmonary bypass.

Casey looked up at Derek. "Could you please stop pacing like that? It's making me more nervous." She whispered. Derek stopped and looked at her, he nodded. He saw down in the chair next to her and wrapped his arm around her. A little while later, the doctor came out. Derek and Casey stood up.

The doctor looked at them seriously. "His temperature is slowly rising, but other than that, there hasn't been a change. He is still at high risk, especially since he is so young." He told them. He turned to leave, but turned right back and said, "I feel like I should tell you that," He paused. "it doesn't look good. I'm sorry." He went back into the room.

"Damn." Derek muttered. He looked at Casey and pulled her into a hug. She started crying into his chest again. They stood there for a while. She lifted her head and looked up at him.

"What are we going to do? We can't lose him. We can't lose our little boy." She sobbed. She looked down and started mumbling, "We can't, we can't lose our little boy, we can't." over and over again. Derek sighed, pulled her closer to him and kissed her on the forehead. She had her head against his chest, but continued her mumbling. Not knowing how else to comfort her, he stroked her hair. After a while, Casey stopped mumbling and allowed Derek to sit her down. He sat down beside her, still holding her.

A few hours later, Sam and Emily took Ava, Nathan and Mackinzee home for the night while the rest of the family kept Derek and Casey company outside Jake's room.

Casey was still in shock while Derek comforted her. He was extremely worried about her, and it broke his heart to see her like that. They still haven't even seen Jake. Finally, the doctor came out with some news.

"He has dropped from severe hypothermia to moderate hypothermia and he's conscious. But he's disoriented and he doesn't know what is going on." He told them.

"Is he out of danger?" Derek asked him.

"It's still too soon to tell. His body temperature has gone up a bit, but it's still not high enough." The doctor replied. He looked at Casey who didn't even appear to be listening to him. "Why don't I get you something to help with the shock. I'll be right back." After a short moment, he was back with a couple of pills. He handed them to Derek to give to Casey. "Would you like a couple for yourself as well?" He asked Derek.

Before Derek could answer, Nora spoke up, "Yes, I think that would be best." She gave Derek a look to show him not to argue and Derek took the pills reluctantly.

Then he gave Casey her pills, he put them into her mouth and said, "Swallow them baby. They will help." She did. However, she still seemed to be in shock. Derek looked up at the doctor, panicked.

"Maybe being with Jake will help." The dostor suggested.

Thinking it was a good idea, Derek looked at Casey. "Casey, baby, look at me." He pleaded. She slowly turned her head and looked at him. "Do you want to see Jake now?" He asked her.

"Hm?" Casey asked, not knowing what was happening.

"Do you want to see Jake?" He asked again. "Do you want to see our son."

"Our son." She whispered. And with that, she was pulled out of her trance and looked at the doctor. "I want to see him." She looked at Derek and then back at the doctor. "We want to see him." Derek took her hand and they stood up. They walked into the room.

"Oh God," Casey gasped when she saw him. Jake was covered completely, but he was still violently shivering. "my baby." She walked over to him and took his hand in hers. Derek walked over to his other side and took his other hand. Jake looked at his parents, but didn't say anything.

The three of them stayed like that for a couple of hours, while the doctor came every thirty minutes or so to check Jake's temperature. The doctor told Derek and Casey to keep giving him warm fluids. Eventually, Casey lay down beside him and hugged him gently, with Derek still holding his hand.

The next morning, the doctor finally had some good news. "His temperature is now 34 degrees, which is still a a case of mild hypothermia, but the danger is definitely gone. I still want to keep him until he's fully recovered though."

As soon as he left, Derek walked over to Casey and hugged her tightly. "Thank god." They both said at the same time. They looked down at their son, who was fast asleep, and sighed with relief.

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**R&R please :)**


	20. My World

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**I forgot to mention it in the previous chapter, but I'm sorry if I messed up with the accuracy of hypothermia and all that. I tried, but I don't know much about it:)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own LWD :'(**

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By the time Jake was let out of the hospital and Derek drove them home, it was late and it was time for Jake to go to sleep.

"No. I don't want to go to bed." Jake told them as he stood by the front door. It's like he was guarding it or something, he wouldn't budge. Derek looked at Casey before kneeling down in front of Jake.

He looked at him and asked, "Hey, buddy, what's wrong? Why don't want to go to bed?"

"Because," Jake sniffled. "I have to stay here." He replied.

Derek looked at him, confused. "Here? By the door?" Jake nodded. "Why do you have to stay here?"

"Because, because I-" Jake stopped. Tears gathered in his eyes and rolled down his cheeks. He looked down.

Derek put his hands on Jake's shoulders and said, "Hey, hey look at me." Jake looked up. "What's the matter? You know you can always tell me anything. Anything that's bothering you." He told him.

Jake took a breath. "I have to guard the door." He whispered.

"Why?"

"I," Jake looked down again. "I don't want you to leave me again."

Derek sighed. "What makes you think I'm going to leave you?"

"You did before."

Before Derek could answer, Casey stepped in, "That was a huge misunderstanding. On my part." She whispered.

"On both our parts." Derek told her. He looked at Jake and said, "I am never leaving you again. You and your mother are my world."

"Promise?" Jake asked hopefully.

"I promise." Derek confirmed. Then he hugged Jake tightly. "Now get to bed, it's late and you had a long couple of days."

"Okay dad. Goodnight." Jake said. He turned to Casey and said, "Goodnight mommy." He hugged her and then went to his room. Derek sighed and got up.

"Uhh, I think we should think about going to sleep as well. We haven't slept all night." Casey suggested. She turned around but Derek gently grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Casey wait. I think we need to talk." He told her.

"About what?" Casey asked nervously. She looked away to avoid his gaze.

"God. Why are you so hard to talk to sometimes?" Derek groaned. "I want to talk about how you could choose to believe some stranger instead of coming to me first."

Casey looked down.

"After everything we've been through, I can't believe that you would let my ex come between us like that." Derek sighed.

"Yeah. 'Ex' being the operative word here. Your beautiful, blonde ex."

"Is that what this is all about? You're afraid that she's more beautiful than you?" Derek asked in disbelief.

"Maybe." Casey whispered.

"My God, Casey. I'm sorry, but you are crazy to believe that you are anything less than perfect. After all of these years, I would expect you to know that I think of you as the most beautiful woman in the entire world. I think that I already told you before that you are the only one for me. It's always been you." Derek told her.

"Really?"

"Duh. And like I said before, I am here to stay. You couldn't get rid of me if you tried." Derek promised. She smiled at him and leaned up to kiss him. He pulled her closer to him and deepened the kiss. After some time, he pulled away and looked into her eyes. "I love you."

Casey grinned at him. "I love you too."

Derek sighed as he stroked her cheek. "My spacey, why do you have to be such a chase sometimes?" He whispered, not expecting an answer. Casey closed her eyes and leaned more against his touch. They stood like that for a while before Derek said, "I think we should get to bed."

Casey opened her eyes and smiled. She nodded. The two of them made their way to Casey's room and got ready for bed. In bed, Casey had her head on his chest and Derek stroked her hair.

"How did you know where to find him?" Casey asked him.

"I remember that he once told me that it was his favourite place because that is where the three of us spent most of our time, as a family." Derek sighed as he continued to stroke her hair. "I was so scared last night."

"Me too. I was so scared that he wouldn't make it. I don't know what I would have done if he didn't make it." Casey whispered.

Derek looked down at her. "You scared the crap out of me as well."

"I scared you?" Casey looked up, confused.

"Well yeah. You were in such shock that you didn't talk, or look at anyone. I didn't know how to help you. It broke my heart." Derek admitted.

Casey reached up and stroked Derek's cheek. "I think you being with me and Jake helped enough. Thank you." She leaned up and kissed him. Then she pulled back and leaned against his chest again as Derek retreated to stroking her hair. Almost immediately, they both fell into a deep sleep.

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**R&R please:)**


	21. Used to This

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own LWD:(**

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The next morning, Casey woke up to find an empty space beside her. She opened her eyes and frowned. She looked over to where Derek should have been sleeping and found a note on the pillow, it said:

_Didn't want to wake you, you looked so peaceful. Had to get something at my apartment. Should be back soon. I Love you my spacey xo_

Casey smiled and got out of bed. She went to Jake's room to check up on him and saw that he was still fast asleep. She smiled, she couldn't believe she almost lost him. She sighed and went to the kitchen to make breakfast.

Derek opened the door quietly, hoping Casey and Jake were still asleep, but he was welcomed to the delicious smell of fresh pancakes and the sound of music coming from the kitchen. He went to the kitchen and saw Casey standing in front of the stove, swaying her hips to the music, looking exactly the way she did when they were teenagers. Jake was sitting at the dining room table watching cartoons. He looked up and opened his mouth to greet his dad, but Derek put a finger up to stop him. He walked up behind Casey, who was still unaware that he was there, and hugged her around the waist.

"Oh!" She squealed and turned around. "De-rek! Oh my goodness, you scared me." She playfully slapped his arm, then she put her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. He immediately returned the kiss.

"Ahem."

Derek and Casey quickly pulled apart and remembered that Jake was still in the room. They laughed nervously and looked at each other.

"Maybe not in front of..." Derek suggested.

"Right." Casey laughed and turned back to the stove.

Derek noticed that the table wasn't set yet, so he went to the cupboard and got out three plates, then he got three forks and a knife for the butter. He brought them to the table and set them down. He then got the butter out of the fridge and maple syrup out of the cupboard. By the time he sat down, Casey brought the pancakes over and sat down as well. She looked at her two boys, who were already stuffing their faces with pancakes, and smiled.

_I could get used to this._ She thought.

()()()()()()()()

After breakfast, Derek decided to take Casey and Jake on a little day trip.

"Where are we going?" Jake asked as Casey zipped his jacket up.

"You'll see when we get there. It's a surprise." Derek told him.

_Two Hours Later_

"Derek, we are officially lost. Maybe we should turn around." Casey suggested.

"Casey." Derek muttered. "We are not lost." He said, keeping his eyes on the road.

Casey sighed and looked outside the window. Suddenly, her phone rang.

"Hello?" She answered. "Oh hi mom...oh nothing, just getting lost." She said, giving Derek a pointed look. He rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything. "I don't think we'll be able to make it...if anything changes, I'll call you...okay...bye mom." She hung up. She looked at Derek and said, "She wanted to know if we wanted to come for dinner today."

"Why did you say we wouldn't?" Derek asked her.

"Because, at this rate, I don't think we'll get home anytime soon." She told him, shaking head. She turned around to check on Jake, who was being awfully quiet and discovered that he was sleeping.

_30 Minutes Later_

"Ughh." Derek groaned as he finally turned the car around.

Casey looked at him. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"Were going home." Derek grumbled. Casey turned to look at the window so Derek couldn't see her smile. She looked at him again and started to stroke his hair. Derek instantly relaxed and sighed. He looked at Casey quickly. "Why don't you call your mom to let her know we're on our way."

"Okay." Casey whispered. She got her phone out and made the call.

By the time they got to their parents' house, it was time for dinner.

"Where are Ed and Liz?" Derek asked as they sat down at the table.

"Edwin has a midterm on Monday and Lizzie has one on Tuesday, so they decided they decided to use this weekend to study." George explained.

After dinner, while everyone was watching a movie in the living room, Derk's cell phone rang. He quietly got up and went to the kitchen not to disturb everyone else.

"Hello." He answered.

"Hey Derek, it's Dennis. I just got your message."

"Oh hey Mr. McDonald, thanks for calling me back." Derek said.

"No problem. What's up?"

"Um. I was wondering if I could ask you something. And I would've done this in person if we weren't in different countries." Derek took a deep breath. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a little box. "I know this a bit old fashioned but I wanted to ask you for Casey's hand in marriage. I love your daughter very much and I want to stay with her and Jake for the rest of my life" He gripped the box tightly as he waited for Dennis' answer.

Dennis stayed quiet for a moment before answering, "Of course Derek. You have my blessing. But if you hurt her, I will hurt you."

Derek let out a breath. "Thank you Mr. McDonald, you won't regret this."

As soon as he hung up, he began planning how he would propose to her. It had to be perfect.

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**R&R please :)**


	22. Plans

**Wow! it's been soOoO long and I hope all my supportive readers don't hate me. :P **

**Anyways I'm back and I'm ready to write! YAY! LOL**

**Disclaimer: Even after all this time, I still don't own LWD :(**

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"Casey we gotta go!" Derek called, exasperated. He had been waiting for Casey at the front door for almost fifteen minutes.

"Calm down." Casey said as she came out of the bedroom. She walked over to him and started putting on her jacket.

"Calm down? We were supposed to leave fifteen minutes ago. We are gonna be so late." He said, getting flustered.

Casey shook her head as she looked at him. "You know if you told me we were going out earlier, I might have been ready on time." She said. Derek sighed but said nothing. "What is with you anyway? You never cared about punctuality before. What's wrong?"

Derek looked down. "Nothing." He said quickly.

"Yes there is," Casey pressed. "look at you, you're sweating." She looked at him curiously.

Derek wiped his forehead. He shook his head and said, "seriously Case, I'm fine. Now let's go." He took her hand and pulled her out into the hallway.

The car ride was quiet, Casey didn't want to push but she knew something was on Derek's mind.

And there was, alot. Derek was sweating because he was nervous. And he was nervous because in a few short hours, he was going to propose to the love of his life. He was going to ask Casey to marry him. And not only that but it was also Casey's birthday.

Derek had planned a huge surprise party for her and she had no idea what was about to happen. She thought Derek was taking her for dinner to her favourite restaurant. Everyone she knew had been invited to the party, however they did not know that Derek had an even bigger surprise planned for Casey.

As he turned into the hotel where as it happened was Casey's favourite restaurant, but also where the party was being held, Derek's heart did a little jump. _Here goes nothing._ He thought to himself.

He went around to the passenger side of the car to let Casey out as the Valet got into the driver's seat.

"This is so fancy." Casey smiled as she took Derek's hand and got out. They made their way into the hotel but instead of turning to go into the restaurant, Derek went the other way. Casey stopped, confused. "Don't we go this way?" She pointed to the opposite direction.

Derek took a breath. "Yeah but uhh, actually I have to meet someone real quick before our dinner." He explained. "It'll only take a few minutes."

Casey sighed. She didn't like the fact that Derek planned a meeting on the night of her birthday, even if it was supposed to be quick. However, she did not want to seem ungrateful to Derek for bringing her here, so she just smiled. "Alright." She took his hand and they walked further into the hotel. Derek stopped infront of two big doors and knocked. Suddenly the door opened, but there was no one there. It was however pitch black inside.

"Creepy." Casey whispered. Derek just smiled and led her into the room.

All of a sudden, the lights went on and a huge crowd of people screamed, "Suprise!"

Casey stopped. She looked absolutely shocked. Derek laughed. "Happy Birthday Baby." He whispered into her ear and kissed her temple.

"De-rek." Casey looked at him. "You planned this?" He nodded. "You know I hate surprises." She whispered. But despite herself, she smiled. "Thank you Der." She said as she kissed him. She turned to everyone and said, "Thank you everyone!"

"Mommy!" Jake ran up and gave Casey a big hug. "Happy birthday!"

Casey picked him up and hugged him tightly. "Thank you baby." She said. When she put him down, Jake quickly went to find Nathan.

While Casey mingled and talked to her family and friends, Derek was talking to Sam outside on the terrace.

"So, you ready?" Sam asked as he took a sip of his beer. He and Emily were the only ones who knew what Derek was about to do.

"Uhhh," Derek took a swig of his own beer. "not really." He admitted. He took the little velvet box out of his pocket and clutched it. He did that everytime he started to panic about the proposal. Somehow, it made him relax.

Sam shook his head. "Dude, you got this." He assured his best friend.

Derek looked at him and nodded. He was right, he's been waiting long enough to do this. He's been waiting long enough to marry Casey. It was time. He was ready. "Let's do this."

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**Hope you enjoyed it! I know it was a little short but more will come in the next few days. :)**

**R&R please :D**


	23. I'm Your's

**Hello, hello :) I am excited about this chapter :)**

**Enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own LWD. Boo!**

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"Can I please have everyone's attention?" Everyone stopped and looked to the stage to see Derek standing in front of a huge screen. "I just want to wish my incredible girlfriend a very happy birthday," He looked lovingly at Casey who smiled brightly at him. "and also, I would like you all to turn your attention to the screen. Thank you." He quickly stepped off the stage and made his way to where Casey was and taking her hand into his, he sat beside her.

The song "I'm Your's" by Jason Mraz came on in the background and a little girl came on screen. In the video, a five year old Casey in a yellow dress was running around outside with the biggest smile on her face. Then the video changed to a 7 year old Casey on stage at one of her dance recitals. Then it was a video of Nora in the hospital holding baby Casey. On and on the videos and photos changed showing Casey throughout her life so far. Touched, Casey had tears in her eyes the whole time. When a photo of her and Derek at their graduation came on, Derek gently squeezed Casey's hand remembering their last day together before leaving his family to go to B.C. Casey looked at him and gave him a small smile, trying to let him know that everything was okay.

The montage was coming to an end and knowing what was coming with that, Derek held his breath. The screen went black, but before everyone could take that as the end of the video, five words came onto the screen,"Casey, will you marry me?" Everyone gasped. Casey's eyes widened. She looked at Derek, shocked.

Still holding her hand, he knelt down on one knee in front of her. Concentrating on how to breath, he looked into Casey's eyes. "Casey, I love you so much and all I want is to spend the rest of my life taking care of you and Jake. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" He asked nervously. For a moment, Casey was speechless, and Derek suddenly had bad thoughts coming to him. _Oh my god. I shouldn't have done this. Casey would never marry me. I don't deserve her. _He thought.

Casey finally found her voice, "Of course I will marry you Derek." She told him, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I love you." She grabbed his face and pulled him into a passionate kiss. Everyone around them started clapping and cheering for the now engaged couple.

Derek, however, didn't hear them. While kissing Casey back, he was still getting used to the fact that she said yes. When they finally pulled apart, he took the little box out of his pocket and opened it. Casey gasped. Derek smiled and took the ring out of the box. Taking her left hand, he slipped the ring onto her finger and then gently kissed it.

"Derek! It's absolutely beautiful!" Casey told him breathlessly.

"Not as beautiful as you are." He told her as he stood up. As soon as the moment was over, everyone started crowding the couple, congratulating them and gushing over how beautiful the ring was.

When the party was over, Nora and George offered to take Jake home with them to give Derek and Casey the night to themselves. Hoping that would happen, Derek planned on another little surprise for Casey which was waiting for her at home. During the party, Derek called his assistant to make sure everything was set up.

Walking into the apartment with Derek behind her, Casey gasped. On every table, there were vases with hundreds of long-stemed roses. And on the floor, there was a pathway made with rose petals, leading into the bedroom.

"Derek." Casey breathed. She turned around and looked into his eyes. Derek gently caressed her cheek. He leaned forward and kissed her softly. Before he could pull away though, Casey deepened the kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Derek took her into his arms and kissed her back with every ounce of passion that he had. Suddenly, he picked her up and carried her into the bedroom. He gently placed her on the rose petal covered bed. He did all of this without breaking their kiss. When Casey finally had to pull away to breath, Derek kissed her softly down to her neck and gently nibbled her. She let out a soft moan. Taking that as encouragement, Derek broke away and began to unzip her dress. Casey pushed him back and stood up. She looked down at him seductively and slowly stepped out of the dress. She then bent forward and looking into Derek's eyes, she started to unbutton his shirt.

"I love you so much Casey." Derek whispered while looking into her eyes. She smiled at him and helped him take his shirt off.

"I love you too." She whispered back. Derek then pulled her on top of him and kissed her fiercly.

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**Yay! Derek and Casey are engaged! :P Like I said before, I was really excited about this chapter and I had fun writing it. I know it's a bit short, and I thought it would be a bit longer but you know :) Hopefully you enjoyed it.**

**R&R please :)**


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